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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



The 

Indian Place-Names 

On Long Island and Islands 
Adjacent 

With Their Probable Significations 



By 

William Wallace Tooker 

Algonkinist 



Edited, with an Introduction by 

Alexander F. Chamberlain, Ph.D. 

Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Clark University, Worcester, Mass. 



Published for the 

John Jermain Memorial Library 

* Sag Harbor, N. Y. 



G. P. Putnam's Sons 

New York and London 

TLbc 1knicketboc\{ev press 
1911 



F/Z7 



Copyright, 1911 

BY 

WILLIAM WALLACE TOOKER 



Ube "Rnicftetboclict ptas, "Rew Kotft 



\ . .i 



^. 



MARGARET OLIVIA SAGE 

WHOSE 

BENEFACTIONS ARE WORLD-WIDE 

THIS VOLUME 

IS 

RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 

BY THE 

AUTHOR 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction by the Editor . . . vii 

Some Preliminary Remarks by the Author xv 

The Indian Place-Names on Long Island 

AND Islands Adjacent . . . . i 

Appendix I. List of Algonkian Names 
Suitable for Country Homes, Hotels, 
Clubs, Motor-Boats, etc. . . . 299 

Appendix II. Bibliography of Contribu- 
tions TO the Study of Algonkian 
Nomenclature, etc., by William 
Wallace Tooker .... 303 

Appendix III. Works of Other Writers 
Cited with More or Less Frequency 
in this Volume, and Other Works 
Relating to the Same or Connected 
Topics . . . . . . .311 



INTRODUCTION 

THE timeliness of such historical studies as those 
represented by Mr. Tooker's Indian Place- 
Names on Long Island is emphasized by the recent 
burning of the Capitol at Albany, which involved 
the destruction of hundreds (perhaps, thousands) 
of original manuscripts and unprinted docu- 
ments relating to the period of early settlement of 
parts of northeastern North America by Europeans, 
Dutch and English in particular. Not a few of the 
sources (notably the records of land-papers and 
kindred material in the office of the Secretary of 
State), from which Mr. Tooker obtained the facts 
enabling him to interpret accurately and beyond 
all possibility of doubt many Indian place-names of 
the region in question, perished irreparably in the 
conflagration. Their true etymologies could be 
ascertained only by the most painstaking and in- 
telligent examination, by one deeply acquainted 
with the speech of the Indian inhabitants, of old 
deeds, boundary-descriptions, wills, etc., many of 
which can never again be appealed to for the same 
original purposes, since the flames have now con- 
sumed them altogether. It may even happen 
sometime that the extracts from certain of these 



viii Introdviction 

documents (no longer in existence) to be found in 
the pages of Mr. Tooker's book will have to serve 
as the only historical or legal evidence on record 
concerning some of the matters with which they 
deal. Besides the place-names themselves, these 
old records often contain references to customs and 
habits of both whites and Indians, notes on abor- 
iginal life and activities, etc., nowhere else set 
down. Incidents of hunting and fishing, methods 
of capturing game, accounts of native foods, and 
the like, are reported sometimes in connection 
with brief descriptions of settlements, treaties, 
titles to land, exchanges of property, limitations 
of bounds, etc. Some of the early documents 
formerly on record at Albany have been published 
in the Minutes of the Executive Council of the Prov- 
ince of New York (2 vols., Albany, 1910), edited by 
G. V. H. Paltsits, the State Historian. Here a 
number of the Long Island records are reproduced 
at full length. The lists of sachems are of 
especial interest. One of the most significant as- 
pects of human history is the story of race-contact. 
All over the globe abundant evidences of such con- 
tact occur in geographical names, which are some- 
times the only memorials of themselves which the 
so-called "lower" races are able to transmit to the 
"higher." The Red Man, however, has not been 
so unfortunate, for he has influenced in many ways 
the language, the economic life, and even the in- 
stitutions of his conquerors and dispossessors. 



Introdxiction ix 

The mass-contact of the EngHsh and the Indians 
in North America took place first in an Algonkian 
area, of which Long Island formed a part. Lin- 
guistically, the Algonkian stock, although by no 
means intellectually superior to their Iroquoian 
neighbors, seem to have influenced more the Euro- 
pean settlers and their descendants. In an article 
on "Algonkian Words in American English," pub- 
lished in the Journal of American Folk-Lore for 
1 90 1, and in a monograph on " The Contribution of 
the American Indian to Human Civilization (Proc. 
Amer. Antiq. Soc, 1902), the writer has discussed 
this topic, pointing out that the contributions of the 
Algonkians to the dictionary of American English 
(past and present) amount to at least 200 words, 
including such terms of world-wide fame as Tam- 
many, mugwump, totem, etc., while the element 
taken up from the Iroquoian dialects is very much 
less numerous, being chiefly limited to words which 
were originally place-names, but which, like Chau- 
tauqua, etc., have for some reason or other become 
common-places of our speech. 

In so far as its place-names of Indian origin are 
concerned. Long Island is completely Algonkian, 
the few Iroquoian terms listed by Mr. Tooker, 
such as Genissee and Swego, being due to the white 
man's introduction of them from other parts of 
New York State. The list of place-names re- 
corded and interpreted by Mr. Tooker constitutes, 
as he has said, with the exception of two rather 



X Introdviction 

short vocabularies, obtained at the close of the 
eighteenth century, our sole linguistic data con- 
cerning the Indian inhabitants of Long Island at 
the period of European settlement. It is fortunate 
that we have, from a competent Algonkinist, to 
use a somewhat new word, this detailed study of 
nearly 500 names. For this not only the investi- 
gators in the field of American Indian philology will 
be grateful, but all those likewise who are inter- 
ested in the phenomena of race-contact and the 
problems connected with the accretion of the vo- 
cabulary of modern English from foreign sources. 
One interesting feature of these researches into 
the origin and the history of Indian place-names 
is the turning up occasionally of a word, derived 
from the aboriginal tongue of the locality, which 
has passed into the common every- day speech of 
the English settlers, or the Dutch, as the case 
may be. In discussing the name Seapoose, Mr. 
Tooker chronicles just such a term. Even at the 
present day, we are told, "the inlets that are 
opened in the beaches on the Southside in the 
towns of East and Southampton, in order that 
the ocean may flow into the various ponds 
and bays, or vice versa, are known as the Seapoose.'' 
In a record of 1650, the pay for working "at the 
seapoose'' is stated to be three shillings per day. 
In recent times the word has been applied both in 
Long Island and New Jersey (in the form "sea- 
puss") to the "under-tow" of the ocean. The 



Introdviction xi 

term seapoose, or sea-puss, is of good Algonkian 
origin, as shown by the Narragansett sipoese, 
Massachusetts sepuese, Long Island (Unkechaug) 
seepus, "little river," from the radical sip (seep), 
"river." The word seapoose or sea-puss is not to 
be found in the Standard or the Century Dictionary, 
but ought to be included in any comprehensive list 
of Americanisms of Indian origin. "Sea-puss," 
perhaps, has a touch of folk-etymology about it. 
Another term, in process of becoming an "Ameri- 
canism," unless, indeed, it is from English hassock, 
is recorded under Hassokey. In the early docu- 
ments '' Has sokie meSi&o^s,'' ''Hassokey swamp,'' 
"Hassokey meadow," etc., are often mentioned; 
and the name Hassock also appears frequently as 
applied to similar localities in certain parts of 
Long Island. The Algonkian origin of the term is 
seen from the Narragansett hassucki," marsh land," 
Delaware assisku, "miry, marshy," etc. A thor- 
oughgoing examination of the old records of the 
settlements within the Algonkian area of north- 
eastern North America would, doubtless, reveal 
other contributions of the aborigines to the vocabu- 
lary of their Aryan successors in the land. 

The tendency of the English language to reduce 
many polysyllabic words to a much briefer form is 
exemplified again and again in these place-names 
of Indian origin. Thus, Achabachawesuck appears 
sometimes as Westick; Checkachagin as Choggin; 
Massapeague as Marsey; Moncorum and Winecorum 



xii Introdviction 

as Coram or Corum; Pauquaciimsuck as Quaconsuck; 
Sagaponack as Sagg or Sag; Secommecock as Mecock; 
Winnecomac as Comae. Remarkable in this re- 
spect is Quaquanantuck, which is found as Quaquan- 
tuck, Quantuck, Quaqua, Quagga, Quag, etc. On 
the other hand, we learn that in 1889 the 
name of the Post-Office Sagg was changed to 
Sagaponack. 

Among the many place-names on record as of 
Indian origin, according to the early settlers of 
Long Island, are some "ghost-words," as Skeat, 
the English lexicographer, terms them due to mis- 
takes of scribes, etc. Such, e. g., is Minaiissums 
for Wimiecroscoms. Occasionally the white man 
has deliberately altered the form or the spelling of 
the aboriginal name. This is the case with Marra- 
tooka, which, by way of Marrituck, goes back to 
Mattituck. The white man's influence is seen also 
in the introduction of names from other and kin- 
dred Indian tongues, and in the "invention" or 
"improvement" of such. 

Thus, Ihpetonga, Kioshk, and Minis sais are Od- 
jibwa (Chippewa) words introduced by the late 
H. R. Schoolcraft, and Kissena comes from a like 
source. To Mr. G. R. Howell is due the making 
of Missipaug, Minnesunk, and Nippaug. 

The spelling of the Indian names, both in Dutch 
and English, has varied extremely; so much, in- 
deed, that the belonging of some of them together 
would hardly be suspected were it not for the proof 



Introdviction xiii 

furnished by the original records. For Setauket, 
e. g., we find Setaulcott, Selasacott, and (in Dutch 
notation) Sichteyhackey . 

Pseudo-Indian names occur, as Mr. Tooker 
points out, in Hoggenoch corrupted from "Hog's 
Neck," Oquenock (from "Oak Neck"), Syosset 
(from Dutch Schouts), Wainscot (a good English 
word), etc., the forms of which approximate some- 
times so closely real Indian words that the his- 
torical records alone can settle the question of 
their real origin. In " Dix's Hills" is remembered 
an Indian named "Dick Pichegan, " and in quite 
a number of other place-names only part of the 
personal appellation (Indian or English) of some 
sannup or squaw has survived. In his Preliminary 
Remarks Mr. Tooker has called attention to other 
interesting characteristics of some of these place- 
names. 

The Indian Place-Names on Long Island, besides 
serving the more scholarly and serious purposes of 
the historian and the philologist, ought, and its 
author has labored personally to that end, to help 
strengthen the custom, now considerably in vogue, 
of employing names of American Indian origin to 
designate villages and towns the outgrowth of the 
present day, estates and seats in the country or at 
the sea-shore, camps, hotels, cottages, vessels large 
and small, etc. This can so often be accomplished 
with no injury to our mother-tongue and with a 
proper remembrance of those who tenanted the 



xiv Introdxaction 

woods and sailed the seas before us. Much can be 
done by the simple restoration of names formerly 
in use. Notable examples of such restoration are 
to be met with in ^'Sagamore Hill" (here, perhaps, 
Mohannis, the sagamore himself, might well have 
been remembered, as the hill really bore his name 
once), perpetuated by Mr. Roosevelt, and in 
" Mashimuet Park, " presented by Mrs. Sage to the 
town of Sag Harbor. Finally, the editor desires 
to express his pleasure in seeing preserved in 
book-form the results of the careful and suggestive 
studies of his friend and colleague, and in finding 
them dedicated to one whose gracious benefactions 
have made themselves potent in all the walks of 
economic life, religion, art and science. 



Alexander F. Chamberlain. 



Clark University, 
Worcester, Mass. 
May 22, 1911. 



SOME PRELIMINARY REMARKS 

"Keep evermore the Indian name 

So long ago possessed, that tongue 
And time which gave alike are gone, 

Their history never told or sung. 
I would not change, I love the sound 

Associate from infancy, 
With home and friends and scenes which grew 

Through passing years more dear to me." 

THESE lines are taken from a poem entitled 
Hauppaug Sweet Waters, by Ellen S. Mow- 
bray, a Long Island poetess. They are quite 
apropos, and will apply, at the present time, to 
many Long Island Indian names as herein noted, 
such as Montauk, Quogue, Amagansett, Speonk, 
Setauket, and others. 

They emphasize the desirability of retaining 
such reminders of the past, already bestow^ed, and 
of adopting others now obsolete and forgotten, 
except as here brought to view. 

Two brief vocabularies of the Algonkian lan- 
guage, in the Long Island dialects, have been 
preserved. The first was obtained by the Hon. 
Thomas Jefferson, in the presence of the Hon. 

XV 



xvi Some Preliminary RemarKs 

James Madison, and General Floyd, on January 
I3> 1 791. at Pusspaiuck, in the town of Brook- 
haven. It consists of about 162 words, including 
the numerals, and is in the so-called dialect of the 
Unquachog. At that time, said Jefferson: "There 
remain but three persons who can speak its lan- 
guage. They are old women. From two of these 
this vocabulary was taken. A young woman of 
the same tribe was also present, who knew some- 
thing of the language." 

The consonantal interchange from n to r, in 
many words, shows the kinship of these old women 
to the Quiripis of New Haven, by marriage or 
otherwise. 

A vocabulary of the Montauks was obtained on 
the same visit to Long Island, but it was after- 
ward lost by accident on the Potomac River. 

The second vocabulary is in the Moritauk dia- 
lect, and was obtained by John Lyon Gardiner, 
the seventh Proprietor of Gardiner's Island, on 
March 25, 1798, from George Pharaoh, aged sixty- 
six, the oldest man of the tribe, and their chief. 
Gardiner states, there were then only seven per- 
sons that could speak the language. Many 
words of this vocabulary, which numbers about 
seventy-five, exhibit much phonetic decay, and 
the list presents such an array of English and 
Montauk, that I cannot believe, at that time, 
there was a native who could speak the language 
intelligently and correctly. No doubt dying 



Some Preliminary IVemarKs xvii 

echoes of the language must have Hngered for 
many years among the remnant of the tribe. 

These two vocabiilaries, and the names which I 
here present, are all that remain of the language 
as once spoken from Staten Island to Montauk 
Point. The Montauk vocabulary in Wood's 
History of Long Island is not a true copy of 
the original, as it is lacking in many essentials 
especially interesting. 

I had devoted considerable study to the sub- 
ject of Indian names, and Trumbull's work was 
familiar to me, previous to 1887, in which year, 
I was invited by Mr. H. F. Gunnison, then editor 
of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac, to prepare a 
list of the "Indian Geographical Names of Long 
Island, with their Signification," for that annual 
for the coming year 1888. The list was revised 
and corrected with additions, in the Almanac for 
1889 and 1890. This was followed in 1893, by an 
essay on The Indian Names of Places in Brooklyn. 
In 1894, l^he Aboriginal Terms for Long Island 
appeared. In 1895, was published an essay on 
Some Indian Fishing Stations on Long Island. 
My theme for 1896 was The Signification of the 
Name Montauk. In 1897, i^Y contribution was 
The Derivation of the Name Manhattan. After a 
lapse of some years, this was followed in the 
Almanac for 1904 by a continuation, with additions 
and revisions, of the Indian Names of Places from 
the Almanac of 1890, which completed my contri- 



xviii Some Preliminary RemarKs 

butions to the Brooklyn Eagle Almanac, all of 
which were drawn from the present work while 
in manuscript. 

The essays attracted the most attention, and 
were reprinted in several periodicals and after- 
wards revised with notes for my Algonquian Series. 
The list of 1888 was the first ever published, since 
Schoolcraft's can hardly be called a list, and De 
Kay's was printed for further information but not 
published. 

Viewed from the standpoint of civilization, the 
interpretation of these Indian names is looked 
upon as being trivial and very nonsensical; viewed, 
however, from the Indian standpoint, they are 
found to be very momentous and interesting. 
This standpoint has nearly always been misun- 
derstood or ignored. Our early settlers generally 
considered this when purchasing land from the 
natives, and always retained the Indian boundary 
designations, and fully set them forth in the so- 
called Indian deeds. 

A good illustration of a name, from an Indian's 
standpoint, is given by Mackenzie {Voyages, 
1st Amer. ed., 1802, pp. 52-53), who mentions 
a carry on the Churchill River, in the British 
Possessions, called Athiquisipichigan Ouinigan,^ or 
"the Portage of the Stretched Frog Skin," which, 

^ The etymology of this name is athi "frog"; quisi "to cut," 
or "to skin"; -pichigan, suffix of instrumentaUty, something 
"stretched out" being understood; ouinigan "a portage." 



Some Preliminary RemarKs xix 

he says, "was hung up there by the Knisteneaux, 
in derision of the natives formerly in possession 
of the country, who were held in great contempt 
for being poor hunters, and for their ignorance 
in properly preparing and stretching the beaver 
skins. " 

It has been said, that in the composition of 
these names no imagination on the part of the 
Indians has been shown. This will apply to those 
of simple structure, but not to those of a more 
intricate composition, like the above. 

The familiar name, tomahawk, also possesses 
attributes from the Indian standpoint, totally 
unknown to the Americanist, The name of the 
weapon had its origin somewhere among the 
eastern Algonkians, possibly among the Massachu- 
setts, as represented etymologically, by the form 
tumetah-who-uk, "he that cuts off, by a blow." 

The Indians were very figurative and expres- 
sive in their nature and speech, and so, favorite 
weapons, like the tomahawk, were given animate 
attributes, as represented by the Massachusetts 
notation. Tumhican, "a cutting instrument," is 
the inanimate form. The na ae was adopted so 
generally by the whites, that by colloquial usage 
it became well known to the Indians of an alien 
tongue, who applied it, as did also the English, to 
other weapons that would not "cut off," for no 
Indian of the language where it had its birth 
would have called a curved wooden club with a 



XX Some Preliminary RemarKs 

globular head at its end, "a tomahawk," as has 
been done in museums and elsewhere. 

As Prof. Wm. H. Holmes, the eminent ethnolo- 
gist, very aptly remarks {American Anthropologist, 
n.s. vol. X., p. 276): "The English colonists ap- 
plied it not only to the native celt-hatchet, but 
to the grooved axe, the falchion club, and the 
plain globe-headed club. " 

It occasionally happens, when collecting Indian 
vocabularies, that a mistaken meaning sometimes 
occurs, due to the collector or native misunder- 
standing the answer to the question given by 
the interpreter. 

Strachey, in his Historic of Travaile into Virginia, 
etc., furnishes us with several instances of this 
kind, together with one rather remarkable ex- 
ample. Once upon a time, as the story goes, 
when on a visit to one of the Indian Queens, whose 
dominion or habitation was located on the south 
shore of James River, he noticed that she wore a 
chain of large copper links, which went twice or 
thrice about her neck, which he said, they accoun- 
ted ''a jolly ornament." On his asking about it, 
she replied: '' tapaantamminais," and so he noted 
it in his " Dictionarie " (in the above work) as "a 
chayne of copper with long lincks, tapaantaihi- 
nais," while the real meaning has nothing what- 
ever to do with "copper links, " but really indicates 
how she obtained it, viz.: "she enough-minded 
with corn, or she bought it with corn." Its ety- 



Some Preliminary IVemarKs xxi 

mology is as follows : tapa-antam-minais ( = Massa- 
chusetts tapa-antam-minneash) , from /a^<2, "enough, 
sufficient"; -antam, "minded," the characteristic 
and formative of verbs expressing mental states 
and activities, hence, "she is satisfied or conten- 
ted"; -minais (pi. of min), "corn." It will be 
remarked that the Powhatan form is identical with 
the Massachusetts (the tilde over the m marks the 
omission of the m following), which shows how 
close these two dialects are in their cognation. 

There are several divisions of names which 
have been investigated by the author. First, 
the geographical names, properly so-called, which 
includes those bestowed by the Indians themselves, 
descriptive of some natural feature, and those 
that appear as boundary designations, as handed 
down by the whites in Indian deeds. These 
two sorts are by far the most numerous of all 
the names and the most interesting. 

The second includes Indian personal names, as 
adopted by the English, from the native, who 
formerly erected his or her wigwam and planted 
the land, swamp, or creek retaining the name. 
This includes such well known names as Georgica, 
Meacox, and Moriches. 

The third consists of those that are not Algon- 
kian, although believed to be such by the majority 
of the inhabitants of those hamlets retaining the 
name. This division includes Syosset, which is 
of Dutch origin; Wainscot, which is English; 



xxii Some Preliminary IVemarKs 

Hoggenock, an error of an engrosser; and Ligonee, 
which belongs to the realm of English folk-lore. 

The polysynthetical structure of these geogra- 
phical names is, with few exceptions, very simple. 
The well, known Algonkian scholar, the late J. H. 
Trumbull, assigns them to three classes, with 
which I agree: "i. Names composed of two 
elements, which we may distinguish as adjectival 
and substantival; with, or without, a locative suffix 
or postposition meaning 'at,' 'in,' 'near,' or the 
like. (I use the terms 'adjectival' and 'sub- 
stantival' because no true adjectives or substan- 
tives enter into the composition of Algonkian 
names. The adjectival may be an adverb or a 
preposition; the substantival element is often a 
verbal, which serves in composition as a generic 
name, but which cannot be used as an independent 
word: the synthesis always retains a verbal form.) 

"2, Those which have only a single base- 
word, the substantival, with a postposition. 

"3. Those formed from verbs, as participials 
or verbal nouns denoting a place where the action 
of the verb is performed." 

To Classes i and 2 belong nine-tenths of all the 
Algonkian place-names throughout Long Island 
and islands adjacent. Those belonging to Class 
3 are very rare, so much so that Trumbull does 
not mention a single example in his work on 
Indian Names in Connecticut, while Long Island 
gives us a number of this class of names. 



Some Preliminary RemarKs xxiii 

The application of Indian geographical appella- 
tions is not always obvious when translated. Let 
us illustrate this. 

There is a constant inquiry for euphonious 
Algonkian names and their signification. These 
are desired for various purposes, but all indicate 
the awakened interest in the matter under con- 
sideration. Such inquiries (until recently when 
illness prevented) were always answered to the 
best of my ability. In reply, to my often ex- 
haustive studies of the names, for most of them 
cannot be translated at sight, I am sometimes 
informed, that the translation does not apply to 
the locality now bearing the name. Why should 
it apply, after a lapse of two and a half centuries 
or more? 

The ancient "corn fields" are now covered with 
cedars, and the "chestnut trees" in the swamp 
have been burned for years, and the "burned 
woods ' ' is merely a name. As the poetess has writ- 
ten, "tongue and time which gave alike are gone." 

Take the well-known name Shinnecock for in- 
stance; we find it applied to a canal, to a bay, to a 
neck of land, and to a range of hills, the last being 
an antithesis to the original bestowal, for Shinne- 
cock (not Shinnec-ock, as Ruttenber gives it) 
denotes "a level country," describing ''Shinne- 
cock plain,'' where the first settlers of Southamp- 
ton found the tribe encamped in the earliest days 
of the township. 



xxiv Some Preliminary RemarKs 

Some of the Indian names on Long Island are 
duplicated in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, 
Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. 

Long Island possesses the honor, however, of 
having two "Connecticut," rivers, neither of 
which borrowed its name from the larger and 
better known river; and it also possesses one 
"Mississippi," the name of which, historically, 
antedates that of the greater western stream. 

Many of the names have suffered curtailment in 
some of their component parts. These losses, 
due to colloquial use by the English, consist some- 
times of an initial prefix, sometimes of a sufhx, 
frequently of both, which adds to the perplexity 
of a puzzling study. These losses can generally 
be rectified if we have the early records and deeds 
of the townships, wherein the names are often 
fully set forth. 

Long Island is rich in these records, and the 
greater part of them have been published, and so 
have added their testimony to the identification 
of many names. 

In the beginning of my studies in Algonkim 
nomenclature, I found it necessary to utilize all 
the vocabularies obtainable for purposes of com- 
parison, the two Long Island specimens being 
totally inadequate for the proper study of these 
names. Therefore I have availed myself of 
Roger Williams's Key into the Language of 
America; Cotton's Vocabulary of the Massa- 



Some Preliminary RemarKs xxv 

chusetts; Trumbull's works; Chamberlain's stud- 
ies; and many grammars and works from other 
dialects. 

I also found it necessary to do much laborious 
study, which does not show to any extent in my 
published essays. This includes the preparation 
of a Natick-English dictionary, made up from 
Eliot's Indian Bible, of which I have a copy of 
the second edition, not "* mentioned by Pilling. 
This dictionary consists of over five thousand 
entries ; but many words, however, are duplicated, 
in order to show their grammatical and polysyn- 
thetical construction, as well as to indicate 
Eliot's method of compounding words. My 
dictionary therefore differs entirely from Trum- 
bull's compilation, having been made up for my 
own use before his was published by the Bureau of 
American Ethnology. Neither work is exhaustive 
of the subject, as contained in Eliot's Indian Bible. 
In fact, there is strong probability, that if Trum- 
bull was unable to exhaust the subject, that it 
never will be done, owing to the labor involved 
in such an undertaking. 

There are certain peculiarities regarding some of 
the names of eastern Long Island, not found else- 
where. I refer now to some well-known names, 
which are almost effectually disguised under the 
orthography of a Dutch scribe; for instance, we 
find: Mochgonnekonck, given for Shinnecock; Cots- 
jewaminck written for Ahaquatuwamuck; Mir- 



xxvi Some Preliminary RemarKs 

rachtauhacky for Meantaukut; Weyrinteynick for 
Wyandance; Catsjeyick for Cutchogue; and several 
others. 

During the progress of this work, while still 
in manuscript, awaiting further search and dis- 
covery of new names, I have devoted considerable 
study to the names on Martha's Vineyard. This 
essay will appear in a forthcoming history of that 
island, by Dr. Charles E. Banks, of the U. S. 
Marine Hospital Service. Also some study to the 
names in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, 
and Maryland, the results of which, with few 
exceptions, have never heen published. 

There are two studies which I regret to be 
obliged to leave incomplete, for I was deeply 
interested in them both. 

The first is a work on The Proverbs of Solomon, 
King of Israel (with notes, vocabulary, etc.), from 
the text of the Eliot Indian Bible, in collabora- 
tion with Dr. Alexander F. Chamberlain, of Clark 
University, Worcester, Mass. In 1907, when I 
was obliged to give up this study, fifteen chapters 
had been translated, and two chapters copied from 
the texts and verified.' 

The second study is India7i Names of Villages 
and Streams, from Captain John Smith's Map of 
Virginia. This list numbers about 176 names, 

' This work will be continued by Dr. Chamberlain, when 
opportunity offers, and will be published as a joint labor of the 
two authors. 



Some Preliminary RemarKs xxvii 

the greater part of which are here translated, with 
their cognates from other dialects. 

The difficulty of interpreting and translating 
Indian names is seen not only in the work of ama- 
teurs but in that of some claiming a somewhat 
intimate knowledge of aboriginal languages and 
aboriginal history. An example of erroneous in- 
terpretation is to be,' seen in the discussion of the 
etymology of the name Ronkonkoma by the late 
E. M. Ruttenber, in his Indian Geographical 
Names, published in the Proceedings of the New 
York State Historical Association for 1906. His 
derivation is wrong topographically, as well as 
linguistically. Marechkawick (1637), the Indian 
name of Brooklyn, cannot possibly be derived 
from Mereca, the South American name for a 
wild duck, now applied to the species classified 
scientifically, which had not been done in the 
early seventeenth century. Nor can Moriches 
be derived from the name of a South American 
palm, Moriche palmata; or Canarsie be made the 
equivalent of an East Indian Canarese. The 
Algonkian origin of these three names is be- 
yond doubt, their resemblances to words in other 
languages being simply chance. Yet such 
etymologies are to be found in the work of Mr. 
Ruttenber and others who have not hesitated 
to criticise the labors of competent Algonkinists. 
Of such chance likenesses Major J. W. Powell, 
the eminent ethnologist, wrote : 



xxviii Some Preliminary RemarKs 

"Such accidental resemblances are often found, 
and tyro philologists frequently assemble them for 
the purpose of demonstrating linguistic relation- 
ship; such adventitious similarities are discovered 
in all departments of human activities, and have 
no value for comparative purposes." 

During the assembling of this list of Indian 
names, many ancient manuscript records, un- 
recorded deeds and papers relating to long for- 
gotten lawsuits, have been searched in order to 
make it exhaustive, if such an event were possible. 
However that may be, we can truthfully say it is 
nearly so, and leave to others to bring to light 
those that have been overlooked. Among the 
many friends, who have willingly assisted, with 
good success, in this search, I might name the late 
George R. Howell, Orville B. Ackerly, Esq., and 
William S. Pelletreau, A.M., to whom I owe my 
grateful acknowledgments, for the interest they 
have taken in my work. To Herbert F. Gunni- 
son, of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, my thanks are 
also due, for continued interest in my studies. 
Miss Anna Mulford, has my thanks for her valued 
help in preparing these remarks. 

Wm. Wallace Tooker. 
Sag Harbor, N. Y. 



The Indian Place-Names on 
Long Island 



Indian Place-Names 
on Long Island 

I. AcABONACK, Acahonuk: a neck of land, 
meadows and harbor, in Easthampton town, ad- 
joining Gardiner's Bay. In the early records the 
name is almost invariably applied to the meadows. 
The meadow was laid out in 1651, viz.: "It is 
ordered that Thomas Baker . . . shall lay out 
Occabonack meadow betweene this and the 19th of 
this instant July uppon penalltie of payeinge 10' 
every one yt shall neglect the same by the day" 
(E. H. R., vol. i., pp. 15-16). Variations are 
Accobannocke, 1652; Accaboneck, 1655; Occobonak, 
1655; Ackobonuk, 1667; Ackabonuk, 1672, etc. 
Beauchamp {Ind. Names in N. Y., 1893) has 
Accaponack. 

1 cannot do any better on this name than to 
quote from Trumbull's study : 

"The Indians frequently designated localities 
by the names of esculent or medicinal roots which 
they produced. In the Algonkin language, the 
generic name for tubers and bulbs was pen, — 



2 Indian Place-Names 

varying in some dialects to pin, pena, pon or 
bun. This name seems originally to have be- 
longed to the common ground-nut, Apios tuber osa 
(Abnaki, pen, pi. penak). Other species were 
designated by prefixes to this generic, and in the 
composition of place-names, a suffix was employed 
to denote locaHty {auk, auki, ock, etc.). . . . 
Several local names of this kind have been 
preserved in the eastern townships of Long 
Island. The species denoted by the prefix 
cannot in all cases be determined, but the 
generic name, with its localizing affix, is easily 
recognizable. 

^'Acabonac, Accabonuck: now the name of a 
harbor of Gardiner's Bay, Easthampton, was 
originally the designation of a ' root place. ' The 
species is not ascertained. Probably it is the 
same that is mentioned by Hariot, in Virginia, as 
Okeepenauk, 'roots of round shape,' found in dry 
ground; the inhabitants used to boil and eat 
many of them" (Mag. Amer. Hist., vol. i., 1877, 
pp. 386-387). 

2. Accombommok: "An ancient village site 
on Montauk" (De Kay's Indian Names on Long 
Island). The writer has been unable to find any 
other authority, than the above for this name. De 
Kay may have taken his authority from the 
following : 

(a) Accombomok: "Is the name of part of the 



On Lon^ Island 3 

town [of Easthampton], lying on the north ad- 
joining the sound where there is a small harbor." 
(Thompson, vol. i., p. 310.) Appears also as 
Acabomock (U. S. Coast Survey map). This 
place has always been known locally as Acabo- 
nack. 

(b) Accombomack: "That part of it [Shinne- 
cock] adjoining Peconic Bay is called Accom- 
bomack" (Thompson, vol. i., p. 359). This is 
another error, as the locality mentioned has always 
been known as Seponack or Sabonack. See Acom- 
bamack. 

3. AccOMPSETT: a locality in Smithtown, L. I. 
Found recorded in an order concerning the Smith- 
town boundary, dated 1670: "Declaring and 
offering to prove that ye Nesaquake lands lay on 
both sides of ye Ryver, and that parte lyeing on 
yewestsyde, comonly called Nesaguaque Accomp- 
sett, did extend as farre as ye fresh pond west- 
ward" (H. R., vol. i., p. 170). See Nesaguaque 
Accompsett. 

4. Achabachawesuck: a small creek or brook, 
between Fourth Neck and Pine Neck, Atlantic- 
ville, Southampton town. It is now known locally 
as Wesuck. In the laying out of Wonunk Neck 
in 1686, we find it stated: "Fourth Neck begins 
at a marked tree a little below quogo path, and 
soe runs strait over to a tree at Acha-bacha-we- 



4 Indian Place-Names 

suck, about 50 poles below the going over" 
(S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 114). The variations are 
Achabachwesuck, 1686; Achabusuckwesiick, 1738; 
Achabuchawesuck, 1738; Wesuck, 1738. This long 
name has been a puzzle for a long time, owing to 
loss of a portion of its reduplicated prefix, and 
the substitution of b for p. The real etymology 
is (Ch)acha-bdchau-'we-siick, corresponding to Mass- 
achusetts Chachapdchauwesuck, "separated turn- 
ing aside little brook, " hence "a boundary brook. " 
The intensive prefix denotes "a permanent or 
continuous division or separation." The com- 
ponents of the word are, therefore, chacha, denot- 
ing ' ' division, " " separation ' ' ; pdchau, ' ' he tiu-ns 
aside," "deviates"; -suck, "creek," "brook." 

5. AcOMBAMACK: the neck of land on which is 
situated the village of Bellport, Brookhaven town. 
This name is first mentioned in the Indian deed of 
1664, viz.: "Concerning a parsell of land, lyinge 
upon the south side of Long Island, being bounded 
on the south with the Grate baye, and on the weste 
with a fresh ponde, aioyning to a place comonly 
called Acombamack, and on the east with a river 
called Yamphanke," etc. (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 11). 
Variations are Occombamack, Ockanbamack, Com- 
bamack. The word Acombamack signifies "over 
against the fishing-place." The first section, 
acomb or occomb, is the parallel of the Massachu- 
setts ogkome (Eliot) ; Chippewa, agami; Narra- 



On Long Island 5 

gansett, acawamen, sigmiying "on the other side," 
"over against"; the terminal affix -amack, de- 
notes "a fishing-place," and is a common adjunct 
to many Indian place-names throughout New 
England and on Long Island. In this case, the 
neck of land was probably near a place where the 
Indians had a fishing weir. See also Algonquian 
Series, vol. i., pp. 16-18. 

6. Agawom, Agawam: the town pond in the 
village of Southampton is now called Lake Aga- 
wam. Ogilby, who, in his History of America 
(1671, p. 161), writes: "About the year 1640, by a 
fresh supply of people, that settled on Long Island, 
who there erected the twenty third town, called 
Southampton, by the Indians Agawom" commits 
an error which has been perpetuated by many of 
the Long Island historians without question. It 
does not appear in any of the early records of the 
township. Ogilby, in the opinion of the writer, 
by mistake took this from Smith's Generall Historie 
of New-England (1624, p. 205), where the English 
name of Southampton was bestowed by Prince 
Charles, at the suggestion of Capt. John Smith, 
on an Indian village in Massachusetts called 
Agawom. The locality afterwards was called 
Ipswich. 

The name is applied to several localities through- 
out New England where there are low flat meadows 
or marshes. Of the several suggested transla- 



6 Indian Place-Names 

tions, none are satisfactory, mainly because a 
termination is missing, making the name Aga- 
wom-uk, "where there is a going under," from 
agwu, "under," -worn, "a going," with locative, 
"where there is." The word would thus mean: 
"low flat meadows," that are frequently over- 
flowed. See other names belonging to Trumbull's 
third class. J. N. B. Hewitt {Handb. of Amer. 
Inds. N. of Mexico, vol. i., 1907, p. 21) interprets 
Agawam as "fish-curing (place)," and Kinnicutt 
(Ind. Names of Places in Plym. Co., Mass., 1909, 
p. 18) as " unloading-place, " or "landing-place," 
but neither of these can be correct. 

7. Ahaquatuwamuck : Shelter Island. This 
name occurs occasionally in the early records 
separately. First, in the Dutch archives as 
Cotsjewaminck, afterwards in the English, in 1652, 
viz : ' ' And hee the said Yokee delivered unto the 
aforesaid Captaine Nathaniel Silvester and En- 
signe John Booth one turfe with a twige in their 
hands according to the usual custome of the 
English, after which delivery and full possession 
given, the said Yokee, with all his Indians that 
were formerly belonging to said Island of Aha- 
quatuwamuck did freely and willingly depart" 
(Southold R., vol. i., p. 158). "All that their 
Islands of Ahaquatuwamuck otherwise called 
Menhansack in 1656" (E. H. R., vol. i., p. 97). 
See Manhansack Ahaquatuwamock. 



On Lon^ Island 7 

8. Amagansett: a village in East Hampton 
town. ' ' The foundation of the village was laid out 
at a very early day; its Indian owner was Am-eag- 
an-sett" (Gardiner's Chronicles of East Hampton). 
No authority for this statement can be found. 
I have previously given the signification as 
"in the neighborhood of the fishing-place" 
{Brooklyn Eagle Almanac, 1888, 1889, 1890; 
E. H. R., vol. iv., 1889). This seemed to be right 
by etymology, and from the celebrity of the 
locality as a whaling station from a very early 
period. Besides, a similar name appears as the 
terminal syllable in a Rhode Island place-name, 
viz.: Mashaquamagansett, "red (salmon) fishing- 
place." This meaning was originally furnished 
by Dr. Trumbull of Hartford, Conn., to Wm. S. 
Pelletreau, Esq., who gave it in his paper before 
the Suffolk County Teachers Association, May 
3, 1883. Recent study of Eliot's Indian Bible in 
connection with the town records has fully con- 
vinced me that it is wrong, as the following shows. 

That part of the village south of the main street 
was known at the earliest period as the "Indian 
well plain," and was laid out previous to 1668 
(E. H.';R., vol., i., pp. 305, 322). The tract north 
of the street was part of the undivided common 
land up to 1672, and was known as the "woods 
north of the Indian well" and as the " Amogonset 
woods." In 1672, Rev. Thos. James, John Mul- 
ford, and Jeremiah Conkling, in consideration of 



8 Indian Place-Names 

their resigning title to the land on Montauk pur- 
chased by them in 1670 (see Wuchebesuck) , were 
granted a tract "att the woodland lyeing against 
the Indyan well, " or "above the Indyan well plain 
in the woods" (E. H. R., vol. i., pp. 344, 353). 
In 1683, Thos. James sells fifty-two acres of his 
allotment to Abraham Schellinger "in the woods 
eastward of ye towne, bounded E. by Jeremy 
Conkling, W. by Thos. James, south by ye high- 
way that goes to Napeage, north by highway 
commonly called ylmogow^e^ way." James's deed 
to Schellinger is not on record, but he conveys the 
remainder of his tract to the same party in 1685, 
where the land is "toward 3^e Indian well" 
(E. H. R., vol. i., p. 235). John Mulford sells 
part of his tract in 1698, "lying Eastward in ye 
woods north of ye Indian well" (E. H. R., vol. ii., 
p. 409). In the following year (1699) he conveys 
another part of the same tract "at Ammaganset'' 
(vol. ii., p. 465). A depression in the ground 
running for some distance north and south through 
the village is occasionally mentioned in the records 
as the "Indian well hollow" and is still so-called. 
Isaac Schellinger, a descendant of Abraham Schel- 
linger, now aged (1890) about eighty, says that 
tradition, as handed down to him, located the 
Indian well near the U. S. Life-Saving Station, 
on land now belonging to Mrs. Benj. Terry. The 
well was probably the hollow trunk of a pepperidge 
tree (Nyssa muUiflora) sunk in the meadow that 



On Long Island 9 

adjoins the upland. I have seen several placed in 
that manner at running springs of water, that 
were quite ancient. Variations of the Indian 
name are: Amogonset woods, 1688; Amegansit 
woods, i6()/!^; Amagansick, i6g$ ; Amiganset, 1695; 
Ameganset, 1695; Ammagansit, 1698; Amegonset 
woods, 1699 (E. H. R., vol. ii., pp. 229, 309, 333, 
335, 337, 408, 463). These terms all refer to the 
tract granted to the three individuals above 
named. The word Amagansett is therefore the 
Algonkian synonym of the English "Indian well 
plain"; and the Indians in speaking of it used 
the prefix which the whites dropped, as was fre- 
quently the case in many Indian place-names. 
The etymology is wutah, "a. thing"; amogan, to 
drink " ;-es-it, "at, about," etc. As a whole Wutah- 
amogan-es-it "at about or in the neighborhood of 
the drinking thing (a well)," the equivalent of the 
Massachusetts (Eliot) wutah-amoganit, "at the 
well" (Genesis xxix., 2); wuttah-hamonganit, "to 
the spring (Deut. iv., 49); and of the Narragan- 
setts wutfammagon, "a pipe," "drink instru- 
ment" (R. Williams); wutt'amme, "he drinks" 
(R. Williams); wnWammanog, "weak tobacco," 
lit. "what they drink" (R.Williams). Both the 
early settlers and the Indians used the verb ' ' to 
drink" when speaking of smoking a pipe. 

9. Anchannock : Robins Island, Peconic Bay, 
Southold town. The Indian name of this island 



10 Indian Place-Names 

seems to have been entirely lost, until it was 
brought to light by the publishing of the early 
records. The Indian deed, dated Dec. 7, 1665, 
says: "Certain Island called in the Indian tonge 
Anchannock in English Robert's Island [Robins], 
scituate lying and being in a branch of the sea 
that runs up between Southampton and Southold 
right over against that part of Long Island that is 
called Corchauk" (S. R., vol. i., p. 255). This 
island, together with Shelter Island (as the story 
goes) was chosen by James Farrett, the agent for 
the Earl of Stirling, as his perquisite, and ex- 
empted from the Southampton conveyance of 
1640. Farrett having conveyed the latter to 
Stephen Goodyear of New Haven in 1641, he must 
also have sold this island to Robert Carmand or 
Cannon (?) for we find: "and whereas alsoe the 
said Stephen Goodyear by his bill of sale from 
Robert Carmand did stand seized of one Island 
commonly called by the name of Robert's Island 
scituate lying neere Menhansack Island aforesaid 
hee the said Robert Carmand haveinge formerly 
purchased the same of lyoncam Sachem of Pam- 
manock" (E. H. R., vol. i., p. 97). No other 
record of Carmand's purchase can be found. 

In the Brooklyn Eagle Almanac for 1888, 1889, 
1890, I gave the meaning as a "place full of 
timber" or "land well wooded," considering it 
the equivalent of the Delaware (Zeisberger) tach- 
annicke, "full of timber," tachanigeu, "woody," 



On Long Island ii 

etc. Hence we have Anchann-auke, "land well 
wooded," or "full of timber." After many years 
of study I am fully satisfied that the above is the 
true etymology, for none other answers as well. 
Wood was very scarce in Southold town from a 
very early day. See Mattituck. 

10. Anendesak: a tract of land in Huntington 
town. Records show "July 30, 1705, Cornells 
Van Texall and others petition for a tract of land 
on Long Island, in the county of Suffolk, near the 
town of Huntington called by the natives Anende- 
sak, in English Eader necks beach." The mean- 
ing of Anendesak has not been ascertained. The 
word is probably badly corrupted (Eader neck = 
"Eaton's neck"). 

11. Anock: a short creek at the bottom of 
Fourth Neck, Atlanticville, Southampton. The 
trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the 
town of Southampton, under date of July i, 1698, 
sold the common grass to Francis Sayre, from 
Annock to the west bounds. (Meacox Bay Oyster 
Case, p. 382.) Elisha Howell's will, dated May 15, 
1 77 1, leaves son Mathew Howell "all that neck 
of land called Fourth neck — and the land lying 
against said neck — between the land of Capt. 
John Post and the creek called Anock Creek" 
(Pelletreau's Will, Sea-Side Times, Oct. 24, 1889). 
This is a remnant of a longer name, but what 



12 Indian Place-Names 

the original might have been, it is impossible to say 
at this late day, as it is not found on record except 
as above. There are several names with similar ter- 
minations, such as : Mamanock, Mashmafiock, etc. 

12. Anuskkummikak : neck of land in Baby- 
lontown, formerly called "Little East Neck," or 
"Capt. Fleet's Neck." We find the following in 
the early records of Huntington town, 1682: "A 
parcell of land or meadow lying and being 
upon a certain neck called by ye name of Anus- 
bymonika lying and being on ye south side 
of Long Island, being bound on the east by 
a creek; on the south by ye meadow of Cap- 
tain Thomas Fleet" (vol. i., p. 341). An Indian 
deed of 1697 says: "A certain necke of land 
lying on ye south side of this Island within Hunt- 
ington Patten joyning to a river yt parteth this sd 
necke and a neck called Sampaumes this river is 
called by ye Indians Anuskcomuncak, this sd neck 
is called ye Easte neck, or Captain Fleet's Neck, 
by the Indians Arasecoseagge" (vol. ii., p. 214). 
A deed of 1698: "Part of an Island of meadow 
being undevided lying on ye east side of ye neck 
called Amuskemunnica being bound on ye east 
with Sampaumes creek" (vol. ii., p. 218). Varia- 
tions are Wamskcumuncake (Munsell's Hist. Suff. 
Co.); Anuskkummikak (J. W. Cooper, Esq., Baby- 
lon Signal, June 13, 1885). 

These extracts from the old records prove con- 



On Long Island. 13 

clusively that the name belonged originally to the 
upland only, and not to the creek or meadow; 
and that Captain Fleet's meadow of Arasecoseagge 
was on the south of this neck. On the upland 
were located the corn fields of the Indians, doubt- 
less free from timber at the time of settlement. 
From this fact was derived the name, which signi- 
fies "land to hoe or break up," "planting land," 
"com fields," "plowed ground"; the parallel is 
found in the Narragansett (R. Williams) anask- 
hommin, "to hoe or break up"; munaskunnemen, 
"to weed"; Delaware (Zeisberger) munaskhamen, 
"to weed," "to hoe out." Eliot uses the same 
radical in various forms for "to work," "plow- 
ing, " "the plowman, " etc., as, e.g., in Hosea, x. 12, 
annaskhamook, "break up " ; Isaiah xxiii., 24, anask- 
hammen, "plowman"; Micahiii., 12, anashkamuk, 
"plowed. " Wood in his New England's Prospect 
(1634) gives: "another work is their planting of 
corne, wherein they exceede our English hus- 
bandman, keep it so cleare with their clamme- 
shell-hooes as if it were a garden rather than a 
cornfield not suffering a choking weede to advance 
his audacious head above their infant corne, or 
an undermining worme to spoile his spurnes. " 
Roger WilHams (1643) says: "When a field is to 
be broken up, they have a very loving, sociable 
speedy way to dispatch it; all the neighbors men 
and women, forty, fifty, hundred, joine and come in 
to helpe freely. The women set or plant, weede and 



14 Indian Place-Names 

hill and gather and barne all the come and Fruites 
of the Field ; yt sometimes the man himself (either 
out of love to his wife, or care for his children, or 
being an old man) will help the woman which (by 
the custome of the country) they are not bound to." 

13. Apocock: tract of upland and meadow, 
east of Beaver-dam River, West Hampton. The 
locality is now termed Paucuck. It is noted in 
the Southampton town records as early as 1663, 
viz. : "All these lands — that he the said John Scot 
boght — of Mr. John Ogden of Feversham, lying 
and being bounded, west on the south with a 
creek or river comonly knowne by the appellation 
of Apaucuck'' (S. H. R., vol. i., p. 175). 

An agreement of 1665 says: "The bounds 
agreed upon between the Shinnacock and Unche- 
chauke Indians before the Governor Richard 
NicoU are, 'That the Shinnecocks Bounds to the 
westward are to Apaucock Creeke, That the 
Unchechauge Bounds to the East are Apaucock 
Creek, That the middle of the River is the utmost 
Bounds to each. But that either nation may cutt 
fflaggs for their use on either side of the River 
without molestacon or breach of the Limetts, 
agreed" (Book of Deeds, vol. ii., p. 125, Office 
of Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.). Variations are: 
ApocMck, 1712; Appocock, 1738; Apockac, 1746; 
Apocock, 1748. This name is a variation of 
Appaquoge {Appuhqu-auke or A poqu-auke) "flaggy 



On Lon^ Island 15 

land," or "wigwam-covering place." See Appa- 
quogue. 

14. Appaquogue, Apoguogue: a farming dis- 
trict in East Hampton town, near a flaggy 
meadow. Although well known by this appella- 
tion throughout the township, it is not mentioned 
in the town records. The vicinity is sometimes 
designated as the "Lily Pond." As the name 
occurs in several localities throughout Connecticut, 
and on Long Island, we cannot do better than to 
give Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull's study from his 
Indian Names in Connecticut: The name signi- 
fies "a place where flags grow, " such as were used 
by the Indians for mats and for covering their 
wigwams: particularly the cat-tail flag (Typha 
latifolia). The root means "to cover"; as in the 
Massachusetts, appuhquau, "he covers it," and 
abuhquosik, "a covering " ; Narragansett ahockquos, 
"a mat for covering the wigwam"; Chippewa 
apakwei, "lodge mat." Chippewa and Ottawa 
pukwi, "cat-tail flag, " gives its name to Puckaway 
Lake, on the route from Green Bay to Wisconsin 
River (see Tanner's Narrative, p. 55). The word 
appaquogue represents appaqui-auke and means 
"lodge-covering place," the components being 
appaqui, "lodge-covering"; -auke, "place." 

15. Appopottamax : creek at Bay Shore. 
Mentioned in Brooklyn Times of January 26, 1899, 



i6 Indian Place-N 



ames 



as about to be dredged. This name is not on re- 
cord, as far as I can learn, and no other authority 
than the above has been found for it. If the form is 
correct, it is probably appoquot-om-uck, "where 
there is going for flags, " or "where flags are gath- 
ered." The form belongs to Trumbull's Class 3, and 
is interesting on that account. See Appaquogue. 

16. Aquebogue: hamlet in Riverhead town, 
about three miles east of the county seat. The 
name belonged originally to land a.nd meadows on 
the north side of the bay, although the same name 
was afterwards bestowed on meadows at Flanders 
in Southampton town. These meadows were 
considered very valuable by the early settlers and 
were the cause of a lawsuit in 1667. They are 
frequently mentioned in both the Southampton 
and Southold town records. This name appears 
first in the two Indian deeds of 1648, viz.: "The 
whole tract of land commonly called Ocquebauck 
together with the land and meadows lying on the 
other side the water as far as the creek . . . 
Toyoungs" (S. R., vol. ii., p. 12). "For all that 
land lying between Conchake and Ucquebaak com- 
monly called Mattatuck" (B. H. R., vol. vi., p. 
76). From the above abstracts it will be readily 
seen that Ucquebaug was land on the north side of 
Peconic River and Bay. Paucamp, an old Indian, 
said in 1667: "Toyoungs [Red Creek as it is 
now called] being the outbounds lying in opposi- 



On Long Island 17 

tion to Occabauk old grounds on the north side of 
the bay. " The variations of this name are almost 
innumerable, among them: Occabock, 1656; Occo- 
bauk, 1663; Agabake, 1663; Ocquebauk, 1663; 
Ahkobauk, 1667; Ackqueboug, 1670; Aucquobouke, 
i6y 5 ; Hatiquebaug, i6yg ; Occaquabauk, 1681, etc., 
etc. With all these variations, it resolves itself 
into an original Ucque-baug, "the end of the 
water-place" or "head of the bay" {ukque, be- 
ing a variation of wequa, "at the end of," "as 
far as," "at the head," -baug, being a variation 
of the inseparable generic -paug, "water-place"). 
The Montauk chief in 1667, referring to this land 
{Ukquebaug) called it "land from ye head of the 
bay" (Col. Hist, of N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 600). See 
also the discussion of this name by the late Wil- 
liam Jones in the Handbook of American Indians 
North of Mexico (Bull. 30, Pt. I., p. 71, Bur. Amer. 
Ethnol., Wash., 1907). Mr. Jones's etymology is, 
however, not to be approved. 

17. Aquehonga Manacknong: Staten Island, 
Richmond Co., N. Y. A deed from the Indians 
to Governor Lovelace, April 13, 1660, is for "an 
Island in Hudson's River, commonly called 
Staten Island, and by the Indians Aquehonga 
Manacknong'' (Land Papers, Office of the Sec'y 
of State, Albany, N. Y., vol. i., p. 34). 

This name probably referred to a palisadoed 
village of the Indians, or perhaps one belonging 



l8 Indian Place-Names 

to the whites, located somewhere on the broad 
range of hills that extend across the island (near 
Tompkinsville these hills attain an elevation of 
310 feet). The first part of the name is given in 
Dutch notation as "Ehquaons," Aguehonga being 
the parallel of the Delaware (Zeisberger) achwo- 
wangeu, "steep high bank"; manacknong from 
the Delaware manachk, "a fort," "stockade," or 
any "fenced enclosure"; -nong the terminal suffix 
denoting "locality," "place," etc. The word as 
a whole signifies "the high bank foot place," or 
"place of the high bank foot." See Monocknong 
and Eghquaons. 

18. Araca, Arace: West Neck, Amityville, 
Babylon town. Recorded in the Indian deed of 
1697, viz.: "A certain neck of land lying on ye 
south side of this Island called by ye Indians 
araca by ye English ye west neck being ye weste- 
most neck of Huntington bounds on ye south side 
bounded on ye east by a River and swampe which 
parteth this sd neck and Neck called by ye Indians 
scuraway'' (H. R., vol. ii., p. 208). Arace, 1698. 
This name is perhaps the same as the Narragansett 
awwasse, Delaware awusse, Abnaki awas, "be- 
yond," "furthermost," "further," especially as 
it was the " westemost neck " of Huntington bounds 
at that date, as was Arasecoseagge on the east. 

19. Arasecoseagge: neck of land at the vil- 



On Long Island 19 

lage of Babylon. It is mentioned by this name 
once only in the records of the town, then in the 
Indian deed of 1697, viz.: "Sd necke is called by 
ye english ye eastermost east necke or comonly 
known by ye name of Captain fleets neck and by 
ye Indans arasecoseagge. Bounded on ye west by 
a swampe yt parteth ye other east neck and this 
sd neck of upland from ye edge of ye medow to ye 
head of ye swamp" (H. R., vol. ii, p. 214). 
Arascascagge (Munsell's Hist. S. C). Mr. J. W. 
Cooper, in the Babylon Signal, June 15, 1885, 
writes: "The neck of land on which the Argyle 
Hotel was situated was called Awrasse-cas-cagge.'* 
The same neck is referred to under two other 
entries in the town records as Anusk kummikak, 
the probable explanation of which is that one was 
the name of the upland, while the other desig- 
nated the meadow. 

Roger Williams would probably have written 
this name, Awwassemicuckaskeet, "the furthermost 
meadow ' ' (arase, the parallel of the Narragansett 
awasse, Delaware awossi, Abnaki, awas, "fur- 
ther, " "beyond, " "furthermost, " etc. ; — coseagge, 
a corruption of a word corresponding to the Narra- 
gansett mic/^c^a^^e^/, "a meadow"). The English 
appellation "Eastermost east neck," corroborates 
this analysis of the word. 

20. Areshunk: a neck of land at Centre 
Moriches, Brookhaven town. The landing at 



20 Indian Place-Nanies 

the foot of Union Avenue at that village is some- 
times so designated. The neck is now in the 
possession of Gaston Fay, the artist. The deed of 
Wm. Smith to Walter Dongan gives it as Areshunk, 
1734. Another spelling is Arescunk, 1751. The 
deed of Jno. Gardiner to Jeremiah Havens, Aug. 
I, 1796, is "for a neck of land commonly called 
and known by the name of Aresunk Neck. " This 
name is no doubt derived from that of the Indian 
owner of the neck. John Mayhue, Indian, in 
1680, deeds to John Townsend of Oyster Bay, "a 
sartain small neck of land on ye west side of 
Watshoge where my kinsman Warishone now 
liveth. " The last word is varied as Worishunm 
1680. Areshunk is without a doubt a corrupted 
form of Warishone, the name of this Indian, which 
may be cognate with the Delaware (Zeisberger) 
wanessin, "to forget," — hence "the forgetter. " 

21. Arhakaamunk: Crab Meadow, Hunting- 
ton town. The variations of this name are quite 
puzzling and misleading. It was originally named 
in the deed of 1659, for a tract of land, now partly 
in Huntington and partly in Smithtown, given by 
Wiandance, the Sachem of Paumanack, to Lyon 
Gardiner, for his services in rescuing the Sachem's 
captive daughter from the Narragansetts, viz. : 
"We say it lyeth between Huntington and Seatau- 
cut, the western bounds being Cow Harbor easterly 
Acataamunt^' (Book of Deeds, vol. ii, p. 118, Office 



On Long Island 21 

of the Secy, of State, Albany, N. Y.) ; copy of the 
original furnished to Mrs. C. C. Gardiner of St. Louis 
by the Long Island Historical Society, "Easteriy 
Arhataamunt" ; Hon. J. Lawrence Smith's Notes 
on Smithtown, Munsell's Hist. S. C), Acatamunk; 
Nassaconsett's Deed to Richard Smith in 1665, 
Catawamuck; Dongan's Patent, 1685, to Judge 
Palmer and John Roysee, "called Crab Meadow, 
or by the Indians Katawamac. " The writer, on a 
recent visit to the rooms of the Historical Society, 
examined the original very carefully and found the 
word to he. Ar ha t a a munt. It denotes a place 
where the Indians went to catch crabs, "a crab 
fishing-place." The prefix arhata is the parallel 
of the Chippewa (Baraga) ajageshi or ashagashi; 
Cree (Lacombe) asdkew; Algonquin (Mackenzie) 
achakens, acage (Cuoq) ; Delaware (Zeisberger) 
schahamuis, "craw-fish," "a crab"; Virginian 
(Strachey) ashaham, "lobster." The root means 
"they go back and forwards, from one side to the 
other, "as in Eliot (Joelii., 9), ahaosukque, " to and 
fro"; -amunk, "sl fishing-place," from the insepa- 
rable generic -amack. The English name is 
probably from the same circumstance. See the 
discussion of this word in Algongtiian Series, vol. 
vii., pp. 19-21. 

22. Arrasquaug: "a brook forming part of 
the western boundary of South Oyster Bay, 
Queen's Co." (De Kay's Indian Names on L. I.). 



22 Indian Place-Names 

The stream is now known as "Minell's Creek." 
This name is found in the Andros Patent of 1677, 
viz.: "Then along the sea-coast westerly to 
another certain river called Arrasquaung," 
(Thompson's Long Island, vol. i., p. 488). See 
Passasqueung. 

23. Arshamomaque : hamlet in Southold town, 
near Greenport, L. I. This name appears as 
Harshamomogue, 1795. See Hashamomtck. 

24. Asawsunce: a swamp in Brookhaven 
town, south of the village of Yaphank, The name 
by lapse of time has become corrupted to Oosunk, 
and it appears in that form in Bayles's History of 
Suffolk County. It is recorded in the Indian deed 
of Yaphank neck, 1688, viz. : "North by a swompe 
called Asawsunce'' and again in 1745 (B, H. R., 
vol. i., pp. 71, 156). Another variation is Oosence, 
1808. This swamp probably derives this name 
from Asawsunce an Indian who lived at the swamp 
during the early days of settlement. Investiga- 
tion would probably reveal some token of his so- 
journ. Awoshonks or Awasuncks appears as the 
appellation of a swamp in Rhode Island, which 
takes its name from the celebrated squaw Sachem 
of Sogknoate in 167 1. Sawseunck an Indian signs 
the agreement with Governor Eaton at Quinny- 
piock or New Haven, in 1638 (N. H. Col. R., vol. 
i.). This shows parallel personal names. 



On Lon^ Island 23 

25. AsHAMOMUCK: Crab Meadow, Huntington 
town (C. C. Gardiner, Papers and Biography of 
Lyon Gardiner, 1883). See Arhakaamunk. 

26. Ashawagh: a locality at Hand's Creek, 
Three Mile Harbor, East Hampton town. Under 
date of January 2, 1666, "John Osburne ex- 
changes meadow at Ashshowale." Again, 
September 14, 1705, "Jeremiah Miller exchanges 
meadow lying at a place called Hand's Creek, to 
say all the meadow ground adjoining unto the 
said creek and Ashawagh that meadow ground at 
the head of the west branch of the said creek only 
excepted" (E. H. R., vol. i., p. 251 ; vol. iii., p. 138). 
The land about Hand's Creek bears evidences of 
Indian sojourners in time past. Every sheltered 
valley in this vicinity facing the water bears a 
shell-heap. On the northern slope, at the head of 
Hand's Creek, between the branches of the creek 
can be seen the proofs of Indian habitations 
(shells, arrow points, pottery sherds, etc.). This 
aboriginal village covered over an acre of ground. 
It was this place that was called Ashwagh, signi- 
fying "a place between" (the branches of the 
creek). Compare Massachusetts nashaue (Eliot), 
"in the middle"; n'ashaw-auk, "land in the 
middle." The same name occurs in various 
forms throughout New England and on Long 
Island, Ashawog, Assawog, Nashaway, etc. See 
Assawanama. 



24 Indian Place-Names 

27. AsPATUCK: a creek in the western part 
of Southampton town, between Ketchaponack 
Neck and the locaHty formerly called "Little 
Assups Neck," now known as Quiogue. "At a 
town meeting, April i, 1682, it was agreed that 
all the meadow between Quantuck and Aspatatuck 
shall be laid out in proportions according to pro- 
priety" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 93). This is the first 
appearance in the records. Variations are Aspa- 
tatuck, 1682; Aspatuck, 1686; Assopatuck, 1738; 
Assapatuck, 1738; Assopstauk, 1738; Aspatuck, 
1792. In the Brooklyn Eagle Almanac (1888), I 
gave the meaning as "the high place, " considering 
it the same as Aspatock, a river in New Milford, 
Conn. The name which means "high place," 
a "height" (ashpohtag, Eliot), was transferred to 
the river from some elevation near it — probably 
from the ridge which divides its branches (Trum- 
bull's Indiajt Names in Conn.). Wm. S. Pelle- 
treau, in his paper, Indian Geographical Names 
in Suffolk County, derives the name from the 
same source. The writer now doubts this deriva- 
tion, and suggests the following comparison, 
hashabp, hashab in Eliot; plural ashappog in Cot- 
ton. This word is used by Eliot for "flax," 
"tow," "a fish-net," and (Job viii., 14; Is. lix., 
5) for a spider's web. It may have been primarily 
a generic name for vegetable fibre or fibrous mate- 
rial, specially appropriated to the Indian hemp 
{Apocynum cannabinum Mich.), thence to nets, 



On Lon^ Island 25 

lines, and ropes made from that or other fibrous 
plants (Trumbull, Narragansett Club, vol. i.). 
Roger Williams says: ''Ashop, their nets, which 
they will set thwart some little river or cove 
wherein they kill basse (at the fall of the water) 
with their arrows, or sharp sticks, especially if 
headed with iron, gotten from the English, etc." 
From this our word Ashapo 'tuck signifies "fish-net 
cove," or "creek." Governor Andros in 1676 
gave John Cooper permission to make fishing- 
weirs in two creeks, one of which was Quaquantuck, 
to the east of this creek. 

28. Assasquage: Great Meadow Creek, near 
Jamesport, Riverhead town. So called in the 
Indian deed of March 14, 1648, for the tract of 
land "commonly called Ocquebauck," where we 
read, "provided that the aforesaid Indians, may 
enjoy during their lives, a small peice of land, to 
Plant upon, lying between the two creeks, Mia- 
megg, and Assasquage. " (Book of Deeds, vol. ii., p. 
210, Office of the Secy, of State, Albany, N. Y.) 
The name occurs also as Assasqnog. This creek 
takes its name from the meadow through which 
it flows. Assasquage or Assasquog { = Mass-asqu- 
ogue) means "great grass place or great marshy 
place," hence "a great meadow," as named in 
the Indian deed. See the discussion of the word 
Missisquoi, which probably has a like signification, 
in Dr. Geo. M. McAleer's A Study of the Ety- 



26 Indian Place-Names 

mology of the Indian Place- Name Missisquoi,'* 
(Worcester, Mass., 1906). The word Massas- 
quogue is composed of mass, "great;" asqu, 
"grass;" -oque {-oke), "place." 

29. AssAWANAMA: A pond in Huntington 
town. Records show that on July 30, 1 705, Come- 
lis Van Texall and others petition for a tract of 
land in the County of Suffolk, near the town of 
Huntington, "called by the natives Anendesak, 
in English Eader Necks Beach, along the sound 
four miles, unto the fresh pond called by the 
natives Assawanama where a creek runs into the 
sound and from the sound running into the woods 
six miles or thereabouts.' ' (Cal. of Land Papers 
in Office of Secretary of State, p. 79.) This is 
probably the same pond, called in the earlier 
records Unchemau or Unshemamuck, and the 
above, possibly a corruption of the same; but the 
present form makes it a different word entirely. 
The components of the name are assawa = nashaue 
(Eliot), "in the middle," "between," "midway," 
"place between," etc.; -ama = -amaug or -amack, 
"a fishing-place"; Assawanama thus signifies 
"the midway fishing-place," or "fishing-place 
between (the forks, or on the forks, of a river, 
creek, etc.)." See Ashawagh. 

30. AssuPS: namxC applied to two necks of 
land in the western part of Southampton town. 
The one east of Aspatuck Creek being known as 



On Long Island 2^ 

"Little Assups/' while the one east of Quantuck 
Creek was known as "Assups.'' We find it first 
noted, May 29, 1673, viz.: "Whereas those men 
. . . have . . . laid out ye homeward neck of 
meadow at and about Quaquanantuck, viz. from 
the west side of ye neck comonly called Assops 
neck unto a short creek at ye bottom of . . . the 
4th neck. " (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 252.) Variations 
are Assops, 1673; Assups, 1686; Assoops, 1738; 
Assup, 1734. In the study of this name several 
reasons may be brought forward to show its prob- 
able origin and signification. From the mark of 
the possessive, it might have been derived from 
Assup, an Indian, whose name may be the equi- 
valent of the Narragansett (Williams) Ausup, "the 
raccoon, " This seems to be proven by the records 
(1686): "Assup's Little neck, the bounds of the 
upland thereof laid out by us is on the west side 
of a small pine tree." (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 113.) 
Wm. S. Pelletreau, in his Indian Names in Suffolk 
County, derives the name from Assopstauk (as 
he finds it in the early records), "fish-net place." 
That form belongs to Aspatuck Creek, no other 
form of Assups appearing but that given above. 
Trumbull's Indian Names in Connecticut gives: 
"Ahyosupsuck (Mohegan): the outlet of a pond 
now called Wyassup, also called Asupsuck, may 
have come from the Massachusetts and Narra- 
gansett ashap, hashap, wild hemp, flax, or other 
vegetable fibre used for making nets." 



28 Indian Place-Names 

31. Athscar: a small stream in Islip town. 
It rises in a locality called the Deer Swamp and 
flows into the Orawac Brook. It is traditional; 
no early forms are to be found. The name is 
probably much corrupted and may possibly even 
be an error for Awixa. See Awixa. 

32. Awixa: a small stream of water in the 
town of Islip near Bay Shore, between Penataquit 
Creek and Orawac Brook. The neck on the west 
was once known by the same title. The earliest 
mention is in the Mowbray Indian deed, dated 
May 30, 1 701: "It consisted of two necks of 
land bounded on the east by the brook Aweeksa. 
The Mowbray homestead was on Aweeksa Neck, 
near the brook, which is now regarded as the 
boundary line between the villages of Bay Shore 
and Islip." (Munsell's HisL Suffolk Co.) Mod- 
emly the name appears as Awixa. The word 
Aweeksa corresponds to the Massachusetts (Eliot) 
weeqsha, weeqshau, wehqshi, or weehqshik, "it 
extends to," "goes as far as," "is the end," or 
"limit," as in Eliot's Bible (2 Chron. xx., 16) 
wehqshik sepueses,' "end of the brook." It was 
frequently used, in its various changes, as a bound 
mark, and appears in the above deed of 1701, 
as the eastern limit of the above tract of land — 
the Indians having sold "as far as" this brook 
Aweeksa. A brook in Connecticut, being the east 
bound of the territory claimed by the Pequots, 



On Lon^ Island 29 

was called Weexcodowa from the equivalent term 
in Pequot-Mohegan (Trumbull's Indian Names in 
Connecticut). 

33. Bassalona: high sandy bliiffs at Russell's 
Neck, near Sag Harbor. On the maps Barcelona. 
The name is traditional and frequently pronounced 
as above. It does not appear in the early records. 
A hill of similar appellation appears in Chepachet, 
R. I., as "Absalona." If of Indian origin, its 
meaning has not been ascertained. It has been 
suggested by an old sea captain that the name was 
taken from the city of Barcelona in Spain, — the 
bluffs resembling those at that city. If this be 
true, the word is not Indian. 

34. BoNDYQUOGUE. See Ponquogue. 

35. BosTWiCKS: a harbor and creek on Gardi- 
ner's Island. Probably not Indian, but the name 
of a man who once had charge of the Island as an 
overseer. Sometimes varied as Bostick and Bostic. 
It seems that John Lyon Gardiner, the seventh 
proprietor of the Island, did not know the origin 
of this name, for in an old memorandum book, 
under date of 1798, he notes a number of Indian 
place-names of which he is to ask the meaning from 
the surviving Montauks. Among these appears 
Bostic. 

36. Cachinncak: a brook in the town of Islip, 



30 Indian Place-Names 

now called the Orawac. It is mentioned in the 
settlement of a controversy between Anning Mow- 
bray and Wm. Nicoll, Oct. 31, 1794, viz.: "deter- 
mined the head of said River to be at a certain 
maple tree standing about one rod north of where 
an old road crosses the head of sd brook or River 
and from thence west and by south until the 
head of Cachinncak River bears south." (Copy 
by O. B. Ackerly, Esq.) This name bestowed by 
the whites on the brook, according to the above 
settlement, did not belong there originally; but 
was a boundary mark of the original tract at the 
head of the river. The mark may have been the 
above "maple tree," a pile of stones, or a stake, 
and simply designated "the place of beginning." 
The name Cachinnc-ak, corresponds to the Massa- 
chusetts (Eliot) kutchinnik, kitchinnik (Cotton), 
"the beginning," with the addition of a locative 
termination -ak, "place." See Cagoqunk and 
Kitchaminchok. 

37. Cagoqunk, Cagaqimk: creek in Islip town, 
now called Awixa Brook. In the Indian deed to 
John Mowbray, May 30, 1701, for Aweeksa Neck, it 
"was bounded west by Watchague running North- 
ward from the heads of Cagaqunk and Penata- 
quitt Rivers to the bounds between the North 
and South Indians. " Also appears as Cagoqunk. 
(Copy from O. B. Ackerly, Esq., N. Y.) This 
name did not originally belong to the brook, but 



On Long Island 31 

simply described the extent of the grant to John 
Mowbray, as given by the Indians to the inter- 
preter, and misunderstood probably, as the name 
of the stream by the person who drew the deed, 
it being stated and understood that the Indians 
had conveyed all the land that they owned between 
those rivers, up to the boundary line between the 
north and south, Cagogunk denotes "the whole 
width (to the river), " "as wide as (to the river). " 
It parallels the Delaware (Zeisberger) elgigunk, 
"as big," "as wide"; elgigunk-haki "as big and 
wide as the earth is"; and Chippewa (Baraga) 
enigokwag-aki, "as wide as the earth is." See 
Cachinncak. 

38. Canapaui^h: the north branch of New- 
town Creek at Long Island City. Sometimes 
known as the "Dutch Kills." Mentioned in the 
Indian deed of July 9, 1666, as being: "A small 
creek called by the Indians Canapaukah, where 
Burger's mill stands." (Riker's Annals of New- 
town, p. 72.) An abbreviation of the word seen 
in Narragansett wau-kaunSpauk-ut, "at the 
fenced water-place." No doubt referring to the 
mill-dam (from wau-kaunosint, "fence"; -pauk, 
"water-place"; -uf, "at"). 

39. Canarsie: a village at Flatlands, King's 
Co. This part of Long Island was settled by the 
Dutch very early; in fact New Amersfort or 



32 Indian Place-Names 

Flatlands is now acknowledged to have been the 
first white settlement on Long Island. The local- 
ity was the headquarters of the tribe known as 
the Canarsies. The earliest appearance of the 
name is dated January 21, 1647, viz: "We Wil- 
lem Kieft — have given and granted to George 
Baxter and Richard Clof, with their associates a 
certain tract of land situate on the south side of 
Long Island called Canarsie with all the meadows 
belonging." {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 61.) 
Variations are: Connarie See (Jamaica Bay), 1606; 
Conorasset, 1656; "Piece of meadow land near the 
Canarisse,'' 1661 ; Canaryssen, 1666; Canause, 1666; 
Canarisea, 1680 ; Kanarsingh, 1719. This name is 
an abbreviation, and as is frequently the case 
where the word has been a long time in use, it has 
been softened. It will be noticed that the EngHsh 
form Conorasset differs from the Dutch, although 
the pronunciation is about the same. It may be 
considered as the parallel of the Narragansett 
Wau-kaunosint; Massachusetts (Eliot) Won-kon- 
ODsin, (Cotton) Wo-komvsin; Abnaki (Rasle) (od- 
kaiirmen; Micmac (Rand) Wo-kdloosdn, "a 
fence," "fort," "hedge," etc. With the locative 
-i7ig or -es-et it means "at or about the fence or 
fort"; in fact, "the fenced place" is the significa- 
tion of Canarsie. We cannot state positively at 
this late date whether the name belonged originally 
to the "fenced village " of the tribe or to the whole 
territory, as it was afterwards applied by both 



On Long Island 33 

the Dutch and English. The Dutch manured 
and planted the lands here many years with con- 
sent of the Indians before any purchase was made, 
as stated in the Nicoll patent of 1667. Conse- 
quently the lands were more or less fenced in, both 
that of the Dutch and also that planted by the 
natives. This is reiterated in the Indian deed of 
April 16, 1665, when: "Wametappack, Sachem 
of Canryssen and (others named) lawful owners of 
Canaryssen and the appendages thereunto apper- 
taining — sold to the inhabitants of New Amers- 
foort — a parcel of land — w4th conditions that the 
purchasers once for always a fence shall set at Can- 
arissen for the protection of the Indians' cultiva- 
tion, which fence shall thereafter by the Indians 
be maintained and the land which becomes inclosed 
in fence shall by the Indian owners above men- 
tioned all their lives be used." (Stiles's Hist. 
King's Co., p. 71.) From* this and the fact that 
their village was called Keskaechquerem I incline to 
the belief that the name belongs to all the territory 
that was fenced, until at last there was nothing 
left to the Indians but the small portion fenced in 
at the present Canarsie. See Conorasset. 

40. Cantasquntah : a brook in the town and 
village of Islip, sometimes called the "Widow's 
Brook." This name is recorded in the Indian 
deed from the Sachem Winneqicaheagh to William 
Nicoll, Nov. 29, 1683, viz.: — "all that tract of 
3 



34 Indian Place-Names 

land . . . bounded on the east by a certain river 
called Conetquot, on the south by the sound (bay), 
on the west by a certain river called Cantasquntah, 
on the north by a right line from the head of the 
said river called Conetquot to the head of the said 
river called Cantasqu7itah." (Thompson's L. /., 
vol. i., p. 444.) The name appears also as Cantas- 
qiintha. (Munsell's Hist. S. C, IsHp.) This name 
denotes "a place where the great reeds or rushes 
grow." Cant-asqunt-ah corresponds to Massachu- 
setts keht-asqiiet-auke, "great reed place." It is 
"the principal place of reeds" in that vicin- 
ity. The components of the word are keht-, 
"great," "chief"; asquet or askket, "reed"; -aiike, 
"place." 

41. Ck^tim^ve, Cantiagge: point of trees on 
the bounds between the towns of Hempstead and 
Oyster Bay. This bound-mark appears in the 
first conveyance for land by the Indians in 1653, 
viz.: "and bovmded near southerly by a point of 
trees called Cautiaque" (Thompson's L. I., vol. i., 
p. 485); Andros Patent, 1677: "from thence west- 
erly along the middle of said plains till it bears 
south from the said Robert Williams marked tree 
at a point of trees called Cantiaque" (Thompson's 
L. I., vol. i., p. 489); Dongan's Patent for Hemp- 
stead, 1685: "and from thence up a direct line 
till it comes to a marked tree on the east side of 
Cantiagge Point" (Thompson's L. I., vol. ii., p. 



On Lon^ Island 35 

15), This name designates ' ' where trees are being 
blazed." The same radical is found in the Dela- 
ware (Zeisberger) gischhaque, "to cut with an 
axe"; Chippewa (Baraga) kishkigaige, "I chop 
wood"; kikaige, "I make marks on the road, set- 
ting up branches, etc."; nintchigandaweige, "I cut 
off branches"; Micmac (Rand) kdktadga, "to chop 
all," (For Robert Williams's marked tree see 
Kiscasutta.) The name of the chief of the Hacken- 
sack tribe, called Cantaqua (Nelson's Ind. of N. J., 
1894, p. 132) may be a related word. After him 
Cantaqua' s Creek, a tributary of the Hackensack 
River was named. 

42. Castateum, Cashuteyte: meadows near 
Flatlands, King's Co. Nine Indians (named) by 
deed dated June 16, 1626, convey to Jacobus Van 
Corlaer the following: "the middlemost of three 
flats belonging to them called Castuteeiiw situate 
on the Island called by them Sewanhacky"; same 
date: "the westermost of the flats called Kesta- 
teuw;" July 16, 1636: "eastermost of the three 
fiats called Casteteuw" (Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., 
p. 3). Variations are Cashuteyie, 1638; Castateum, 
(De Kay). Furman {Antiq. of L. I., p. 180) gives 
the "westermost flat" as Kaskutensuken. This 
name simply designated the tract of salt meadows 
which both the Dutch and English in the early 
days valued more, for the grass they produced, 
than they did the bordering upland. The word 



36 Indian Place-Names 

Kestateuw, Casteteuw=Kes-asketu, "where grass is 
cut or mowed." 

43. Cataconnock: Great Neck near Setau- 
ket, Brookhaven town, supposed to be the neck 
of land now known as "Old Fields." We find it 
as follows: " This writing witnesseth that Wyan- 
dance, Sagamore of Long Island, doe promise to 
sell the Great neck, to the Inhabitants of Setaul- 
cott. Memorandum: "The name of the neck 
aboves'd is Catacomiocke, March 8, 1866," (B. 
H. R., vol. i., p. 16.) Thompson {L.I., vol. i., 
p. 431) has Cometico. Cata- is a form of kehti, 
kehte, or keit, as Eliot writes it, varied by other 
writers as cot, cat, cata, etc., signifying "chief," 
"principal," "great," etc.; -connock corresponds 
to the Massachusetts komiik, "an enclosed place." 
"The enclosed place " might have beenapalisadoed 
village of the Indians, where the chief resided, or a 
"place," "land," "a field," limited not extended, 
shut in by water or otherwise. In fact it might 
apply to a "neck of land" making the word the" 
equivalent of the English "Great Neck." See 
Cometico. 

44. Catawamuck: Crab Meadow, Huntington 
town. See Arhakaamimk. 

45. Catchaponack: see Ketchaponack. 

46. Catsjeyick: Dutch notation for Curchaiig, 



On Lon^ Island 37 

Southold. This form of Curchaug is found in the 
Dutch Archives, first in a treaty dated May 29, 
1645, when " Wittaneymen, Sachem of Shinne- 
cock, appears before the council declaring to be 
impowered by his brethren, naming among others 
Mamawichtouw (Momoweta), Sachem of Cats- 
jeyick," and again in 1647: "when deputies from 
Hemsteade report that the chief of Catsjaock and 
his brethren at the east end of Long Island had 
agreed with other Indians to kill the English at 
Heemsteede. It was then agreed to send Secre- 
tary Van Tienhoven who understands the Indian 
language to the east end of the Island in a sloop to 
enquire of the chief, whether the above report be 
true or not. It is also resolved to present the 
Chief of Catsjajock and his brethren with three 
cloth coats and some trifles in the name of the 
Hon'"'" company." See Cutchogue. 

47. Catumb: reef of rocks at the east end of 
Fisher's Island, Long Island Sound (U. S. Coast 
Survey MapJ. See Ketumpscut. 

48. Caumsett: Lloyd's Neck, Huntington 
town. This name is found recorded in the Indian 
deed of Sept. 20, 1654: "This writing witnesseth 
that I Ratiocan Sagamore of Cow Harbor, have 
sold unto Samuel Mayo, Daniel Whitehead and 
Peter Wright my neck of land which makes the 
east side of Oyster Bay, and the west side of Cow 



38 Indian Place-Names 

Harbor on the north side bounded with the sound, 
called by the Indians Caumsett (H. R., vol. i., p. 
4). This name signifies "at, about, or in the 
neighborhood of a sharp rock," from the words 
seen in Narragansett (R. Williams) cau "sharp," 
ompsk or ryi's "a rock," cduompsk, "a whetstone" 
or a "rock suitable for sharpening"; and Massa- 
chusetts (Eliot) koiompsk," "sharp rock." With 
the diminutive form of the locative the name is 
Cau-omps-es-et. On this neck probably still re- 
mains a rock of gritty nature, to which the Indians 
came in order to sharpen their stone implements, 
or it may have been simply a sharp pointed rock. 
"Boulders of granular white limestone occur on 
Lloyd's Neck" (Thompson's L. /., vol. i., P- 59). 

49. Caus Cung Quaram: neck of land in the 
town of Babylon. See Guscomquorum. 

50. Caushawasha: a swamp on Hashamo- 
muk Neck, Southold town. One of the bounds 
of the neck referred to in 1661, viz.: "The utter- 
most part of the said Land beginninge from the 
northeast at a pond called by the Minnapaugs, 
so to a greate swampe called in the Indean tounge 
Caushawasha by the east side of Dismal to a 
certain creek the Indeans call Paugetuck on the 
south side" (S. R., vol. i., p. 210); again in 1686: 
"to run from sd black oake to a white oak att a 
swamp as they call Causawashowy" (S. R., vol. ii., 



On Lon^ Island 39 

p. 2']']). Caushawsha corresponds to the Narra- 
gansett (R, Williams) cutshausha; Massachusetts 
(Eliot) kutshaumune, "the lightning." It was 
probably the name of an Indian who located his 
wigwam and corn fields near the swamp. Personal 
names were frequently given to swamps where 
the Indians lived by the English settlers. These 
being favorite abiding places of the natives on 
account of the living springs, running brooks, and 
their sheltered positions. Nearly every one in the 
vicinity of Sag Harbor has on its northerly side 
a shell-deposit showing aboriginal sojourners in 
time past. 

51. Chebiakinnausuk, Chabiakinnauhsuk: a 
locality in the "North Neck," Montauk. One of 
the bounds of the Wuchebesuck purchase, men- 
tioned in the Indian deed of 1670, viz.: "so on 
a straight line to Chebiakinnausuck'' (Hedges* 
Address, 1849). Ranger's Deeds, 1840, has Cha- 
biakinnauhsuk. This bound-mark was located at a 
long brook — one of the many outlets of the swamps 
that dot this section ; but the name probably does 
not refer to the brook itself, as the writer once sup- 
posed from its terminal affix. (See Names in East 
Hampton, E. H. R., vol. iv.) The prefix chebia- 
or chabia- in this compound name is an equiva- 
lent for the Massachusetts (Eliot) chabenuk, 
"that which divides or separates," "a bound- 
mark;" as in Job xxxviii., 25, Howan chachaubenuk 



40 Indian Place-Names 

Jiippee poohsem iit, "who hath divided the water 
course. " The second part corresponds to kinnaii- 
suk, the Massachusetts (EHot) kiihkinneausuk "you 
mark," kuhkinneasii, "he marketh." Chabia- 
kinnausiik thus signifies the marked separation, 
"where he marketh bounds, " " a boundary place," 
"a bound-mark." 

52. Checkachagin : a brook in the town of 
Oyster Ba}^ Queen's Co., flowing northeasterly 
into Beaver Swamp Creek. Two of the variants 
from the records of the town are Chan gr en, CJio- 
gorin. Geo. W. Cocks, Esq., of Glen Cove, in- 
forms me that he remembers it as a boy fifty 3'ears 
ago, colloquially, as *' Choggin." The name is a 
personal one from one of the chiefs, ^' Chech agon 
alias Quaropin," mentioned in an Indian deed of 
January 9, 1683. (Thompson's L. I., vol. i., p. 
489.) 

53. Chequit: a name formerly given to the 
point of land on Shelter Island where the S. I. 
Heights Ass'n have erected a hotel and many 
cottages, now called Prospect. The name is 
derived from a fish that is caught in the waters in 
the spring, called by the whites after the name 
Chequit or Chickwick; in other parts of the country 
it is sometimes called Squeteage, Siichcrmaiig, and 
SheciUts, by the English "weak-fish." According 
to W. R. Gerard (in Ha?idb. of Amer. Inds. N. of 



On Long Island 41 

Mexico, vol. i. p. 316), squeteague is a corruption 
of the Narragansett pesakweteauag, "they make 
glue," in reference to the use of the "sounds" of 
the fish by the Indians for making a glutinous sub- 
stance. It is doubtful whether chequit is, as some 
have thought, a corruption of sqiieteague. (a.f.C.) 

54. Chocomount: "a hill on Fisher's Island, 
Coast Survey Map, not Indian, or, unless much 
corrupted, of Indian origin" (Trumbull's Indian 
Names in Connecticut). 

55. Choggin: a brook in Oyster Bay town, 
Queen's Co. See Checkachagin. 

56. Choppauhshapaugausuck : a locality on 
Montauk being the ditch (so-called) or the outlet of 
the Great Pond on the south, from which "Ditch 
Plain" derives its name (E. H. R., vol. ii., p. 206). 
This boundary place is mentioned in the deed of 
1670 (sometimes called the nine-score acre pur- 
chase, or land between the ponds), viz.: "and so 
along to the sea-side to a place called Choppauh- 
shapaugaustick" (Hedges' Address, 1849), Cop- 
pauhshapaugausuk (Ranger's Deeds, 1850). The 
first three syllables, chop-pauhsha,aTe the equivalent 
of the Massachusetts chippachaug, "a separated 
place," "apart separated," from chippai (Eliot), 
"a part," or "portion" (as in Ezekiel xlv., i, 
chippai ohke, "portion of land;" Leviticus xvi., 22, 



42 Indian Place-Names 

chip ohkeit, "land uninhabited," "land apart"); 
pausha corresponds to paushinum (Eliot) "he di- 
vided or separated. " (Ps. Ixxviii., 13.) The third 
part Tepresents paugaus (Eliot), "to widen," "to 
operate;" the terminal affix -suck, "an outlet," or 
"a small stream flowing out of a pond," "a 
brook." Altogether we thus have Chop-pausha- 
paugau-suck, which therefore means "the place of 
separation where the brook opens out." See 
Chebiakinnausuk. 

57. Cobb : a farming district at Southampton, 
L. I. We find this name first recorded in 1652, 
when: "It was granted by the towne unto Mr. 
Henry Eason, that he should have to the quantity 
of three acres any parcell of land hee shall find 
fitt for his use near unto Mr. Odell his 4 acres in 
Cobs pound" (S. H. R., vol. i., p. 86). For fifty 
years the locality is so designated, afterward it be- 
comes simply Cobb, and as such was handed down 
to the present day. The reasons that gave rise to 
the name have been forgotten for generations, 
although the oldest inhabitant and common con- 
sent derive it from aboriginal sources. In an 
article in the Sag Harbor Express, March 11, 1888, 
the writer suggested its origin from the material 
of which the pound may have been built, viz.: 
Cob "clay" mixed with straw for walls, etc. 
(Webster). Mr. Geo. R. Howell, of the N. Y. 
State Library, Albany, suggests its derivation 



On L-on^ Island 43 

from Cob, an Indian, who may have been the 
pound-keeper; hence '^ Cob's pound." This sug- 
gestion may be a correct one, but it is possible 
that Cob might be the name of a negro as well. 
A "Moses' pound" is mentioned in the Hunting- 
ton Records, and a ^'Chestnut pound" in the 
Brookhaven Records, thus showing a personal 
and a material derivation. I doubt the aboriginal 
origin. 

58. CocHiMiNCHOAKE, ChikemencJioake: Mo- 
riches Island. Mentioned in a law suit between 
John Cooper, plaintiff, and John Ogden, defend- 
ant, held at New York, Oct. 30-31, Nov. 1-2-4, 
1667, in regard to whales cast up on the beach. 
See Kitchaminchok. 

59. Cockenoe's Island: off Westport, Conn., 
near the mouth of Saugatuck River; so-called 
from its Indian proprietor, Cockeno, Cockenow, or 
Chachaneu. In the deed to the proprietors of 
Norwalk, 1652, he is called *' Cockenow de Long 
Island'' (Hall's Norwalk, p. 35), and this seems 
to identify him with " Chekanoe, an Indian of 
Menhansick [Shelter] Island, named in Col. Rec, 
iii., 476 (Trumbull's Indian Names in Connecti- 
cut, p. 11). Probably he was the Indian called 
by the Montauk Sachem "my agent Chockanoe 
or Checkenow. " He seemed to have acted as inter- 
preter and laid out the bounds of many of the 



44 Indian Place-Names 

early purchases on Long Island from the Indians 
(H. R., vol. i., p. 17). This name, Cheekanoo, 
Cockefioe, Chickino, Chekkonnow, or Cockoo — no 
matter how varied in the records of Long Island 
and elsewhere, for every Town Clerk or Recorder, 
with but a limited or no knowledge of the Indian 
tongue and its true sounds, wrote down the name 
as it suited him, and seldom twice alike even on 
the same page, — finds its parallel in the Massa- 
chusetts of both Eliot and Cotton, in the verb 
kuhkinneau, or kehkinnoo, ''he marks, observes, 
takes knowledge, instructs, or imitates"; hence, 
"he interprets," and therefore indicating, by a 
free translation, "an interpreter or teacher"; this 
word in its primitive form occurs in all dialects of 
the same linguistic family (that is, the Algonkian) 
in an infinite number of compounds, denoting 
' ' a scholar ; teacher ; a thing signified ; I say what he 
says i.e., repeat after him, etc." See my Cocke- 
noe de Long Island (N. Y., 1896) for a full his- 
tory of this Indian. 

60. CoEKWAs: creek on Rockaway Neck, 
Hempstead town. According to the records of 
March 2, 1682: ^^Enamant and Mongowack, 
Indians of Recowack petition that their gift to Jan 
(John) Hansen and others of a neck of land, in the 
north west point of« Racowack, beginning at a 
certain creek called Coekwas, running thence south 
by west to another kill (or creek) called Hapax 



On Lon^ Island 45 

be confirmed" (Cal. of Land Papers in Office 
of the Sec'y of State, p. 25). See Copwax. 

61. CoMAC, Comack: "formerly called Winne- 
Comack, is a pleasant cross-road village situated 
in the eastern part of Huntington town on the 
middle country road of Smithtown turnpike, and 
partly within the bounds of Smithtown. It is an 
ancient settlement, and is located in the midst 
of a rich agricultural district. The surface is 
level, or slightly rolling and the soil heavy and 
nearly every acre under a high state of cultivation" 
(Bayles's Sketches of Suffolk Co.). See Winne- 
comack. 

62. CoMETico: the Indian name of Old Field's 
Point, Brookhaven town (De Kay). This was 
probably taken from Thompson (L. I., vol. i., p. 
431). Mr. Thompson does not give his authority 
and the writer had been unable to find any other, 
and considers it a mistake of Mr, Thompson for 
Cataconnock. In the Brooklyn Eagle Almanac for 
1889 I derived it from a personal name or the 
same as given in Trumbull's Indian Names in 
Connecticut, viz.: Ske' -kom' -eko ; modern Chicomi- 
co; an Indian village, about two miles south of the 
present village of Pine Plains, Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
A Moravian mission station, 1740-44, on Chicomico 
Creek which runs northwesterly through Pine 
Plains township, perpetuates the name, which 



46 Indian Place-Names 

local tradition misinterprets "Little mountain." 
It is obviously formed from ''she,'' "che,'' for 
mishe, or k'che, "great," and komuk (Eliot) or 
comaco, "house" or "inclosed place." The place 
may have been so denominated (like weramo- 
comaco, in Virginia, and Narragansett sachimma- 
comonock, "sachem's house") from the "great 
lodge" of some chief, or because here was the 
"great village" of the tribe. This quotation 
from Trumbull shows Cataconnock to be nearer 
the true form than Cometico. See Cataconnock. 

63. CoMPOWAMS: a neck of land in the town 
of Islip, west of Bay Shore. The brook which 
bounds it on the east was called by the same name, 
now known as the "Bay Shore Brook," and one 
time designated as "Thompson's Brook." On 
Sept. I, 1 70 1, the Indians sold to Thomas Willets 
two necks of land called Manetuc and Watchogue, 
"bounded west by the river called Compowams, 
east by the river called Watchogue, south by the 
salt-bay, and to extend northward, keeping the 
full breadth of said necks, as far as the north side 
of the pines." On "June i, 1703, the Indians 
conveyed to Oloff, Philip and Stephen Van Cort- 
land, a neck called Compowams, having the neck 
called Mantash on the east, and a neck called 
Missatuck on the west, extending northward into 
the woods from the Indian path five English 
miles" (Thompson's L. I., vol. i., p. 447). Varia- 



On Long Island 47 

tions are Compowis, Compowms, Compauwams , 
From the mark of the EngHsh possessive the word 
appears to be an Indian's personal name. Perhaps 
the name may be the equivalent of the Massachu- 
setts (Eliot) Kuppohham, "he closes'' ; Kuppuhon, 
"door." (a. F. c.) 

64. CoNEGUMS: a creek at Mattituck, South- 
old town. In the Indian deed, dated March 20, 
1648: " Uxoquepassem or Puammis Sachem, to- 
gether with his three brothers, viz.: ''Weewacup, 
Nowconneey, Neesautguaggus convey to Mr. Theo- 
philus Eaton, Governor of New Haven, and to Mr. 
Steven Goodyear, Deputy Governor, all that 
their land lying between Conchake and Ucquebaak, 
commonly called Mattatuck, bounded on the East 
with the creek Conegums and the way leading 
thence to Mattatuck pond, for drawing over their 
canoes" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. jj). The original 
deed, in a dilapidated condition, but still legible, is 
in the possession of the Long Island Historical 
Society. This stream is now known as "Reeve's 
Creek" and is near the boundary between South- 
old and Riverhead towns. The Mattituck pond 
(so-called) is the sheet of water now designated 
as Mattituck Bay. Between the two in ancient 
times the Indians were accustomed to drag their 
canoes across, as mentioned above; this gave it 
the name, which occurs in the oldest records of 
Southold, of Canoe place. The signification is 



48 Indian Place-Names 

"a boundary," because it was the east bounds 
of the above tract of land. See Kanungum. 

65. Connecticut: a creek or river in Brook- 
haven town, now called Carman's River. By 
some, this and the following name might be 
considered as taken from the well-known river 
of New England, but it was not, these having 
been so-named at a very early period. In fact it 
was a common appellation for long streams of 
water. In Wyandance's deed for meadow, at 
Mastic, 1657, we find: "Two great necks of 
meadow lying from a river called Connecticut and 
so to a river called WegontJwtaV (B. H. R., 
vol. i.), and in 1674: "that lyeth between a 
river called Conitticut to another called Mastic" 
(B. H. R., vol. i., p. 33). This river in the early 
days was sometimes designated as "East Con- 
necticut" in distinction to the one mentioned 
below. 

66. Connetquot: river or creek in the town 
of Islip, sometimes called Nicoll's River, or more 
often Connetquot brook. The Southside Club 
House is located on this beautiful stream of water. 
In the early days it was sometimes termed the 
' ' West Connecticut. ' ' Thus in 1 662 : ' ' West Cun- 
iticutt or meadow that they bought — this Conitu- 
cutt situate betwixt Unkachak and Sequatake" 
(B. H. R., vol. i., p. 36). In an Indian deed to 



On Lon^ Island 49 

Wm. NicoU, 1683: "all that tract of land situate, 
lying and being on the Southside of Long Island, 
bounded on the east by a certain river called 
Conetquot" (Thompson's L. I., vol. i., p. 444). 
This name and the previous one are derived from 
Quinni- (qunnih- in Eliot; variations quonne, 
conne, etc.), "long"; -tukq, "a tidal river or 
creek"; the locative -ut, "at." The whole word 
quonne-tukq-ut thus signifies, "at the long river." 
See Quonettquott. 

6^. Conorasset: a name said to have been 
applied by the Indians to a tract of land now 
included in the town of Jamaica. It is found 
so recorded in a petition to Peter Stuyvesant, 
Governor General of New Netherlands, March 10, 
1656, viz.: "The place they desire and have 
alreadie petitioned for is called Conorasset and 
lies from a River which divides it from the 
Conorie see to the bounds of heemsteade and 
may containe about twentie families." In the 
permit granted by the Dutch the land is called 
''Canaresse'' (Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., pp. 
339, 340). A variant is Canorasset (De Kay). It 
was part of the territory of the Canarsies and 
takes its name from the headquarters of that 
tribe. See Canarsie. 

68. CoNUNGUM, or Conungam: "about midway 
between Manorville and Riverhead lies the settle- 



50 Indian Place-Names 

ment of Calverton. The locality preserves the 
ancient name of Conungam, Riverhead" (Mun- 
sell's Hist. S. C). See Kanungum. 

69. CoospUTUS: "one of the smaller necks of 
land into which Mastic Neck, is divided " (Bayles's 
Hist. Suffolk Co., also Munsell's Hist. S. C). Pos- 
sibly a variation of Poospatuck. See Poospatuck. 

70. CoPECES : a locality at the head of Three 
Mile Harbor, East Hampton town. According 
to the records, on "Sept. 20, 1705, Jeremiah Miller 
exchanged meadow ground lying at or near the 
head of Three Mile Harbor at a place called 
Copeces'" (E. H. R., vol. iii., p. 139). The head 
of this harbor is inclosed or shut in by a point of 
land and meadow, leaving a very narrow passage 
into the inner harbor or cove, which makes it a 
sheltered place for the boats of the fishermen who 
live in the vicinity, as it must also have been for 
the canoes of the red man who made this section a 
favorite resort, indicated by the numerous shell- 
heaps now whitening the shores and bluffs. The 
name is the equivalent of the Narragansett 
aiicupdwese, Massachusetts, kuppi-es, "little 
cove," literally, "little place of shelter." The 
word is derived from kuppi, "shut in," "shel- 
tered" ; -es, diminutive suffix. See Copiag, Copwax. 

71. Copiag : a neck of land in the western part 



On Lon^ Island 5^ 

of Babylon town, south of the settlement known 
as Breslau. One of the necks of meadow sold by 
the Indians in 1658, names of the same not being 
given. In a deed of 1666, we find: "passell of 
meddow . . . being in a neck comonly called by 
the Indians Coppiage" (H. R., vol. i., p. 84). 
Variations are Copyag, 1693; Cuppuauge, 1698. 
On modern maps the name appears as Copiag. 
Trumbull in his Indian Names in Connecticut 
gives the following etymology for a name of 
similar form: "The name denotes a 'harbor,* 
or 'place of shelter'; literally a 'place shut in.' " 
Massachusetts kuppi, "closed"; kobkog, "haven," 
"harbor"; Narragansett aukup (we have an equi- 
valent for this name in Quebec; and also in the 
modern Cape Poge — ^formerly Capeack, Capawack, 
etc., — on Martha's Vineyard)." Eliot also uses 
the name for "forest," "woods," etc. The 
neck Kuppi-auke was so called, because it was 
"land shut in," by the meadows by which it is 
nearly surrounded, from the "forest" that covered 
it, or perhaps some "sheltered harbor" at or 
near it. The components of the word are kuppi, 
"shut in," "sheltered;" -auke, "place." See 
Copeces, Copwax. 

72. Copwax : creek on Rockaway Neck, Hemp- 
stead town. Queen's Co. The records of March 
20, 1684, mention a "tract of land lying at a 
creek called Oppeax, and so running to another 



52 Indian Place-Names 

called Copwax'' (Cal. of Land Papers, Sec'y of 
State's Office, p. 27). It is named as Coekwas in 
an entry of 1682. The word is the same as the 
previous name, with slight variation. The creek 
was possibly a ' ' place of shelter ' ' for canoes. John 
Smith and others call the locality on Martha's 
Vineyard, Capawack or Capawac. 

y^i- Coram, Corum: a farming hamlet in 
Brookhaven on the old country road, near the 
geographical centre of the town. Another small 
settlement about two miles southeast is known as 
"Coram Hills." Many of the Long Island his- 
torians derive this name from one of the native 
chiefs. Mnnsell, e. g., iroin Cor away. This name 
appears on a deed of 1673 as Cor away or Puding 
(B. H. R., vol. i., p. 43). In an order to Richard 
Woodhull, dated Aug. 13, 1677, we find: "that 
the new way designed and ordered in Governor 
NicoU's time through the middle of the Island 
(the old country road) . . . bee nott only re- 
marked but sufficiently cleared of brush . . . and 
that hee settle a farm ... at or about Mon- 
corum" (Col. Hist, of N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 729). 
Again in 1730: "wee have layed oute to John 
Smith the land granted to William Satterly about 
Wincoram" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 121). Modernly 
Coram or Corum. Coram or Corum Hill is found 
in Huntington, Conn. (Trumbull's Indian Names 
in Conn., p. 12). Wine corem occurs in a deed of 



On L-on^ Island 53 

1738. "At or about Moncorum'' shows that the 
range of hills which rises up so plainly from 
the plains north of Patchogue now known as the 
Coram Hills was the locality intended for a farm. 
The same name occurring in Connecticut applied 
to a hill shows that we must look to some charac- 
teristic of the hills for its meaning. Therefore, 
instead of being derived from some Indian chief, I 
regard it as the equivalent of the Massachusetts 
(Eliot) mwnouhkoiyeum, "a valley," "low coun- 
try," shortened into Moncorum and afterwards 
into Coram. It probably referred to a passage 
between the hills or some valley near them. 

74. CosTEYiCK: "place of uncertain location, " 
(De Kay's Names on L. I.). This is Dutch, and 
not Indian — by some means taken from the proper 
name of Peter Cornelissen Costelyick, Master of 
the "Pine Apple" in 1648 (Col. Hist. N. F., 
vol. xiv., p. 86). 

75. CoTSjEWAMiNCK: This form of the name 
of Shelter Island, and islands adjacent, is found 
on record in a treaty of 1645. It is the Dutch 
notation for Ahaqtiahiwamuck. See Manhansack- 
Ahaguatuwamock, also Mochgonnekonck. 

76. CowAMOKE: "A locality in Smithtown, 
(De Kay). "The Indian name of Fresh Ponds, 
a small settlement in the northwestern part of 



54 Indian Place-Names 

the town [Smithtown] was called Cowamok'' 
(Thompson's L. /., vol. i., p. 460). It is probable 
that Mr. Thompson is in error and gives us Cowa- 
mok for Unshemamuck. De Kay's authority is 
probably Thompson. Possibly this form of the 
name might be translated as "pine tree place," 
corresponding to the Massachusetts kwwa; Narra- 
gansett (R. Williams) cowaw, "pine tree"; -auke, 
"land" or "place." See Unshemamuck. 

77. CuMSEWOGUE : a farming district upon the 
high level plain, about a mile south of Port Jeffer- 
son, Brookhaven town. The only early record 
we have been able to find is as follows: In 1805 
the Commissions of Highways are called "to view 
a road or highway near Setauket at a place called 
Comsewague" (B. H. R., vol. ii., p. 97). A variant 
is Cumsewage, 1835. Modernly the name is 
Cumsewogue. A post-office having been estab- 
lished here, the name in accordance with orders 
from the P. O. Department, has been changed to 
Echo, which is to be regretted. This name prob- 
ably refers to some road or trail originally estab- 
lished by the Indians and afterwards used by 
the whites as was frequently the case. Earlier 
forms would probably show that it was derived 
from the word corresponding to the Delaware 
(Zeisberger) pomsi; Unkechaug (Jefferson) copu- 
musah; Mohegan (Edwards), kepumseh, "thou 
walkest"; Chippewa (Baraga) bimossewin; Algon- 



On Long Island 55 

kin (Mackenzie) pemoussai, "to walk." The same 
radicals appear in the Narragansett (R. Williams), 
yo-cuppummesic6mmin, "cross over into the way 
there." The etymology is, therefore, Cumsew- 
auke, "a walking place. " 

78. CuPSAGE : a locality on the Great South 
Beach, opposite Eastport, Southampton town. 
The place is probably referred to in an entry of Jan. 
15, 1662, viz.: "Part of the Shinnecock Indians 
. . . doe say that they have given and made over 
all their land from Niamack over to the old gutt, 
westward unto Capt. Topping with all their 
interest in the beach" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 2'j). 
In 1693: " near a place called Cupsawege about a 
mile and a half from the gut near a place called 
the green pines" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 85). Other 
records give Capswague, 1693 ; Cup Soak gutt, 1700. 
In 1703 we find in the town records: "And west- 
erly from an Inlett out of ye sea or mane otion 
comonly known as Copsoage gut" (S. H. R., vol. 
ii., p. 177). Still other variants are: Cupsage, 
1712; Cups ouge gut, 1712; Cupsoge, 1768. This 
name is derived from the equivalent of the Mas- 
sachusetts (Eliot), kuppi, "closed," "shut in," 
etc., and -sauk, "an inlet " or "outlet " (of a body 
of water) . The meaning of Kup-sauk is thus an 
"inlet that closes or shuts up," "a shut up inlet," 
' ' closed inlet." These passages of water, or guts, as 
they are often termed, that connect the Great South 



56 Indian Place-Names 

Bay with the ocean, frequently close up, and 
remain so, until a new one is formed by storms 
or by digging. The beach is marked in many 
places, where once the inlets poured their streams 
into the broad Atlantic or vice versa (H. R., vol. 
iii., p. 231, 238). See Seapoose. 

79. CuTCHOGUE : post-office and farming ham- 
let in Southold town. This name was originally 
applied to a tract of land, on which one of the 
Island tribes was located at the era of settlement. 
On this tract still known as the "Fort Neck" (and 
the original Corchauge) was located their palisaded 
inclosure. The late J. Wickham Case wrote: 

"The fort was eligibly and pleasantly situated 
on the east side of the neck, on a declivity sloping 
toward the creek, and close by a fine spring of 
pure water, which rises on the shore just above 
high water mark and flows into the creek, which 
lies in close proximity to the fort. The lines of 
embankment of earth, and the trenches which 
surround the fort are still to be traced. An 
excavation of considerable depth (probably the 
store-house) is within the enclosure which em- 
braces half or three-fourths of an acre" (S. R., 
vol. i., p. 121). On July 21, 1891, by invitation 
of the owner, Mr. Henry V. Downs, I visited the 
spot and found it to be as described, with the 
exception, that it is situated in a dense grove, 
that has been undisturbed for many years. The 



On Lon^ Island 57 

neighboring fields bordering the creek bear evi- 
dences of wigwam sites. Shells, pottery sherds, 
arrow-points, etc., are met with at every point. 
This neck of land is both interesting and historical, 
it being on record as having been visited both by 
the Dutch and English on many occasions, per- 
haps in 1633 by Winthrop in the "Blessing," 
and no doubt by James Farrett in his "Ketch" 
in 1 639-1 640. The four forts of Paumanack 
{Montauk's, ManJianseWs, Shinnecock's, and Cor- 
chaug's) bear close relationship to each other. 
By signal fires or smoke from Shinnecock, — to 
Corchaug, — thence to Shelter Island, — thence to 
the Nominick Hills on Montauk, or vice versa, the 
four tribes could be brought together in a few 
hours. No prominent Indian name on Long 
Island has been more of a puzzle than this one, 
owing to the curious way in which the English 
spelled it; and yet, its etymology is very simple. 
The Dutch seem to have caught the true sound 
better than the neighboring settlers. This was 
probably due to the fact that Secretary Cornells 
Van Tienhoven "who understands the Indian 
language" recorded it. Variations are Catsjeyick, 
1645; Catsjaock, 1647; Carchake, 1648; Corchake, 
1648; Cor change, 1648; Curchaug, 1660; Catich- 
hauge, 1673; Cauchaug, 1677; Courchauge, 1677; 
Corchogge, 1684; Cauchauk, 1704; Kachogue, 
will of Wm. Wells, 1696. Modemly the word is 
spelled Cutchogue. Catsjey, Catsja, Carch or Caugh, 



58 Indian Place-Names 

= kehche, kehti or keihte (as Eliot variously writes 
it) signifies ^' chief, " "pre-eminent," or "superior, " 
"greatest," "principal," etc. Thus with the 
locative termination -atike or -ock, we have Kehch- 
auke, "the greatest or principal place " (of refuge 
for the women and children of that tribe, and 
where the Sachem lived, in fact his "headquar- 
ters). Capt. John Smith {True Relation, p. 24) 
mentions the "king of Kiskieck, " and on the map 
of Virginia {Generall Historie) we find a king's 
town called "Kiskiack," lying near the mouth of 
the Pamunkey River. This is the Virginia equiva- 
lent of our name. Ruttenber's suggested deriva- 
tion from Maskutchotmg cannot be correct. 

80. CuTSGUNSUCK, Cussquofituck: a brook or 
creek on the bounds between the towns of Brook- 
haven and Smithtown at the village of Stony 
Brook. Recorded Aug. 6, 1702: "Ordered that 
a warrant bee given to the surveyor for the Laying 
out of one hundred acres of land for Mr. Phillips 
att a place comonly called Cutsgunsuck and in case 
it prove to be within the bounds of Smithtown he 
shall have the equivalent elsewhere" (B. H. R., 
vol., i. p. 94). Another entry gives it as "Cuts- 
gunsuck." The original award to the arbitrators, 
Woodhull, Hallock and Townsend in 1736, divid- 
ing Smithtown among the heirs and grantees of 
Richard Smith, gives us: "Which lyeth at a place 
called Cussguontuck. " A copy of the same in the 



On Long Island 59 

Town Clerk's office ''Cuiscwontock"; Andros pa- 
tent, Smithtown, 1675: "bounded eastward by a 
runne of water called Stony Brook"; Brookhaven 
and Smithtown boundary award, 1725: "Do 
judge and award that the head of the middle 
branch of Stony Brook . . . shall be one of ye 
bounds between ye said towns" (B. H. R., vol. 
i., p. 115). In this name we discover the Algon- 
kian synonym for Stony Brook, corresponding to 
Massachusetts qiissuk (Cotton), "stone"; gussuk- 
quanash (Eliot), "stones," "rocks," as in mukin- 
numook qussiikqua7iash, "gather stones" (Lev. 
xxi., 46); qussukquanumit Bohan, "to the shore of 
Bohan, " literally, "to the stones of Bohan," 
(Joshua XV., 6). This word is identical with the 
Narragansett qussucqun, "heavy"; literally, "it 
is heavy" (Trumbull's Notes, Narr. Club Reprint 
of R. WilHams's Key, p. 177). This finds its 
counterpart in the Delaware ksucquon; Chippewa 
kosigwan, "it is heavy." The terminal affix 
seems to have been varied in the early records 
from -suck, "a brook," or "outlet," to -tuck, 
"a creek," "flowing stream," or "tidal river." 
Thus we have qiissucqun-suck, "stony brook," 
or qussucqun-tuck, "the stony creek." 

81. CvTVNOMACK: see Ketanomocke. 

82. DiCKEPECHEGANS : hills in Huntington, 
now know as "Dix Hills." The early form as 



6o Indian Place-Names 

it appears nearly fifty years after the settlement 
of the town, viz.: " dickepechegans/^ 1689; dick- 
petheyans," 1689; "dickepechegans," 1690; ''dich- 
pechegans," 1690 (H. R., vol. ii., pp. 25, 41, 66, 
68), has all the attributes of a personal name in the 
possessive case. Dick, an English name, has been 
added to the aboriginal, as was frequently done 
by both the whites and the Indians, and the name 
given to the hills, because here was located the 
wigwam of Dick Pechegan, and the fields that he 
planted. His name appears on the Indian deed 
as to Wm. Massey, dated 1692, as Pechegin 
(H. R., vol. ii., p. 107). 

^2>- Ebwons: neck of land, Brookhaven town 
on Mastic, also called Rattlesnake Neck, lying 
between Winocroscomhs Neck and Floyd's Neck on 
a survey of 1693, by Aug. Graham. This appears 
not to be an Indian name, but is from a former 
owner, "Samuel Eburn" of Setauket, who bought 
it in 1684. See Winnecroscoms. 

84. Eghquaons: Staten Island, Richmond 
Co., N. Y. So-called in the Indian deed dated 
July 10, 1657, viz.: "We the undersigned natives 
of North America, hereditary owners of Staten 
Island, certify and declare to have sold and con- 
veyed to Lubbertus Van Dincklage, attorney for 
his Noble Honor, Hendrick Van der Capellen tho 
Ryssel the whole of Staten Island, by us called 



On Lon^ Island 6l 

Eghquaons" (Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 393). 
This is the Dutch notation for Aquehonga. See 
Aquehonga Manacknong. 

85. Enaughquamuck : a locality named as 
the limit of a grant by Wiandance, Sachem of 
Pawmanack, to Lyon Gardiner in 1659: "for all 
whales that might come ashore from the place 
called Kitchaminfchoke imto the place called 
Enoughquamuck" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 38). 
Examination of the original records shows it to be 
Enaughquamuck. The localities mentioned are 
within the jurisdiction of Tobacus and Wine- 
croscum, Sachems of Unkechaug, and they had 
given their permission to the grant. The year 
previous Wiandance sold to Lyon Gardiner the 
right of herbage on the land covered by his grant, 
viz.: "which beach begins Eastward at the west 
end of Southampton bounds and westward where 
it is separated by the water of the sea cominge 
in out of the ocean sea — southward with the 
great sea, Northward by the Island water: 
reserving the whales that shall be cast up" 
(E. H. R., vol. i., p. 148). Winecrosciim, in 1685, 
denies having given his consent to this transfer, 
(B. H. R., vol. i., p. 69). Enaughqu-amuck, "as 
far as the fishing-place," was probably the inlet 
mentioned in the above grant. Enaughqua is 
the parallel of the Massachusetts (Cotton) un- 
nuhkuquat, "as far as"; Narragansett, anunckqua, 



62 Indian Place-Names 

"at the end of, " "ending of either land or water, " 
"to the extreme point," or "Hmit of," as in you- 
anuckquoqua, "how big," "how far"; Chippewa 
(Baraga), enigokwa aki "as wide as the earth is," 
enigokwadessing, "as it is wide." With the 
locative -amuck, "a fishing-place," denotes "as 
far as the fishing-place goes." See Kitchamin- 
chok. 

86. Equendito: Barren Island, Flatlands, 
King's Co. Mentioned in the Indian deed of 
April 13, 1664: "We Wawmatt Tappa and Kacka- 
washke, the right and true proprietors of a certain 
island called by the Indians Equendito, and by 
the English Broken Lands . . . said Island called 
Equendito, etc." (Stiles's Hist. King's Co., p. 
yy.) The Island is now wholly composed of 
white sand, and the area of the Island has very 
considerably decreased within the memory of 
persons now living. Years ago the Island was 
destitute of trees, producing only sedge affording 
coarse pasture. Sixty years ago cedar trees 
sprang up over the Island furnishing a roosting 
place for a vast number of crows. The Indian 
name and its English one shows that it was cleared 
by either the whites or the natives. The prob- 
ability is that the drifting sand covered the 
natural soil after it was cleared. The name is 
an abbreviated form of a word corresponding to 
the Massachusetts pequettah-ohke, "land opened 



On Lon^ Island 63 

or broken up, " "land from which trees and bushes 
have been removed to fit it for planting"; or else 
(p)equen-ittuk, "cleared of trees"; in fact, "broken 
lands" as called by the EngHsh or Dutch. 

87. EssACHiAS: a small creek in the town of 
Islip, mentioned as follows in a deed of 17 14, 
discovered by O. B. Ackerly, Esq.: "East of 
Great River, and south east of Brickkiln Point, 
two small creeks or runnes of water, called Weha- 
hamis eastward and Essachias westward." Prob- 
ably a personal name of an Indian resident near 
or at the creek. It may be a variation of the 
biblical name Zaccheus, as such names were fre- 
quently bestowed on the Indians when converted, 

88. Genissee: a swamp at Sag Harbor, where 
the pumps and engine house of the Sag Harbor 
Water Works are located. This name is found 
mentioned in a deed of 1838, viz.: "That equal 
undivided half or moiety of a certain lot of land 
situated in the port of Sag Harbor, being lots 
No. 2 and 3 in Genissee so called." This tract 
was granted to Hubbard Latham by Southampton 
town in 1804. At the beginning of the present 
century the rich lands of the Genesee valley in 
the western part of the State were becoming famous 
and were being rapidly filled with the streams of 
emigrants flowing west, hence the adoption of the 
name in this section. The name is derived from 



64 Indian Place-Names 

Onondaga gennis-he-yo , "the beautiful valley," 
or "the pleasant valley," being thus of Iroquoian 
origin. According to J. N. B. Hewitt (Handb. 
of Inds. N. of Mcx., vol. i., 1907, p. 489), the Seneca 
Tyo'-nesi 'yo signifies, "there it has fine banks." 

89. Georgica: a farming district in East 
Hampton, between the village and Wainscot, 
bordering on the sheet of water known as ''Geor- 
gica Pond." The earliest mention of the locality 
is June 10, 1652: "Thomas Talmage senior two 
ackers upon the Little plaine beitmore or lese 
bounded with the hieway South Georgika West 
and North and Mr. James East" (E. H. R., 
vol. i., p. 23). At a town meeting of June 19, 
1657: "An Indian being asked how far Shinne- 
cocks Indians bounds went . . . answered that 
it went to george cake or Wainscot at the least 
or there abouts" (S. H. R., vol. i., p. 114). 
Variations are Jorgke, 1650; "4 acres laid out att 
the neck of Georgika where Mr. Mulford formerly 
mowed, " 1667 (E. H. R., vol. i., p. 268) ; Georgeke, 
1685; Georgekea, 1690; Jorgake, 1713; Georgicay, 
1728; Georgake, 1731. This place derives its 
name from an Indian who formerly lived on the 
neck. Jeorgkee an Indian "goes to sea to kill 
whales for Jacob Schillinger of East Hampton and 
partners," as per agreement dated April 7, 1679 
(S. H, R,, vol. ii., p. 79), This derivation is also 
the traditional one as handed down to Mr. 



On Lon^ Island 65 

Sineus Talmadge, the present owner of part of the 
above tract of land. The signification of the name 
has not been ascertained. It is possible, how- 
ever, that it may be a corruption of the English 
George. 

90. GiLGO: an inlet from the ocean to the 
"Great South Bay," between Oak Island and 
Jones's Beach, Babylon town. 

91. GoNUX: a point of land on Great Hog 
Neck or "Peconic Park," Southold town. So- 
called from an Indian who was drowned in the 
vicinity over one hundred years ago and buried 
upon the point. The grave at one time was 
marked by a stone on which was carved G. X. 
The East Hampton Church Records, copied by 
J. Lyon Gardiner, Esq., and preserved at Gardi- 
ner's Island, contain the following entry: "1767, 
June 5th. Moses Gonack, drowned." The word 
is probably related to the Delaware gunaxin, "to 
be long, to be tall, to be high, " gunaxu (Zeisberger), 
"he is long, tall of stature"; Massachusetts 
qunnunkqussu, "he is tall"; Narragansett, qun- 
nauqussu, "a tall man." See Gunnunks. 

92. GoORGO: neck of land in Islip town, east 
of Babylon. It was "formerly called 'Go-or-go 
his neck' which has been corrupted to Georges 

5 



66 Indian Place-Names 

Neck and St. George's Neck" (Munsell's Hist. 
Suffolk Co., Islip). This is probably an error, 
according to the following record, the word being 
a corruption of George, viz.: "Richard and 
Thomas Willets in 1696 procured a deed for a 
tract of land lying to the east of Seguatogue and 
called by the English George's Neck " (Thompson's 
L. J., vol. i., p. 446.) 

93. GowANUS: creek, bay, and locality in the 
City of Brooklyn. It appears very early in the 
Dutch records, in 1638: "Thomas Bescher sells 
a plantation to Cornells Lambersen Cool, situate 
on Long Island near Gowamis" (Col. Hist. N. Y., 
vol. xiv.). Kieft's Patent 1640 (Red Hook, 12th 
ward Brooklyn): "peice of land upon the Long 
Island . . . reaching in breadth from the kil 
and valley that comes from Gowanes, N. W. by 
N." (Col. Hist, of N. Y., vol. xiv.). Variants 
are : Kil of Gowanes, 1645 ; Gouwanis, 1652. Stiles's 
History of King's County, from other records, 
gives Goujanes, Coujanes, Cojanes, and Cujanes 
(which bespeak a Spanish derivation). From 
the mark of the possessive the land probably takes 
its name from the Indian who planted there, 
Gauwane's plantation. His name may be trans- 
lated "the sleeper," or "he rests." It is cognate 
with the Delaware gauwin, "to sleep;" Massachu- 
setts, kouweu, "he sleeps," koueuenin, "a sleeper." 
See also Algonquian Series, vol. ii., pp. 29-32. 



On Long Island 67 

94. GuEGUis: Little Neck in the town of 
Babylon, This name appears but once in the 
town records, then in a deed from Samuel to 
Hannah Titus, dated Aug., 1696: viz.: "which 
necke is comonlye called or known by the English 
by ye name of ye Litell necke by ye Indians 
gueguis" (H. R., vol. ii., p. 194). 

95. GuNNUNKS: a swamp in the North Neck, 
Montauk. A small tract of land in close proxim- 
ity is called Gunnimk's Garden. It lies midway 
between Fort Pond and Culloden Point, at the 
foot of the range of hills, known as the Rocky 
Ridge. I have been informed by Jonathan Gould, 
Esq., who lived at the second house for many 
years, that the swamp and garden took its name 
from an old squaw who made her home there. 
Mr. Abraham Schellinger of Amagansett, aged 
over 80, says, "that he heard his father speak of 
this squaw who was called Luce Gunnunk, and 
that she was a very tall woman." It may have 
been originally the parallel of the Delaware gun- 
aquat, "tall"; Narragansett and Massachusetts, 
gunnuqui, or guriunkq, "tall"; -unk, "a tree" 
(Trumbull); gun' unk, "a tall standing tree." 
See Gonux. 

96. GuscoMQUOROM : neck of land in Babylon 
town, now known as the Great East Neck. One 
of the five necks of meadow bought in 1657, 



68 Indian Place-Names 

but not named. In a record of 1669, we find: 
"and the other parcell lying on a neck called by 
the Indians Guscomguorom and by the English 
the East Neck." Indian deed for Santapaug, 
1689: "Southward unto the Indian path nor- 
ward as now is, and from the River eastward 
that parts guscomquaram from the said Santa- 
paug. " Indian deed for the upland, 1698: "all 
that tract of upland . . . comonly known by 
ye EngHsh by ye name of ye East Neck, by ye 
Indians Cans Cung Quaram" (H. R., vol. i., pp. 
10, 154; vol. ii., pp. 34, 222). Munsell's History 
of Suffolk County gives Caus-kum-cru-a-ran. Gus- 
comquorom denotes "a crossing-place"; from the 
fact that it was crossed by the Indian trail, or 
that there was a wading place between that neck 
and Santapaug. The word is related to the Mas- 
sachusetts (Eliot) qushkodtecDm, "he went over," 
passed over ' ' ; Delaware, gochgoshgaan, ' ' to cross 
(a water)"; Micmac, tlsogomaase, "to cross a 
water"; Chippewa, gashkis, "to pass over some- 
thing." We may compare Micmac Assookcum- 
kakuuc, "crossing place" (Campbell's Hist. Yar- 
mouth Co., N. S., p. 20). 

97. Hapax: creek on Rockaway Neck, Hemp- 
stead town. Probably a form corresponding to 
Massachusetts dupauk, "flooded or overflowed 
land," so-called from the meadows that border 
the creek. See Coekwas and Oppeax. 



On Lon^ Island 69 

98. Hashamomuk: a neck of land west of the 
village of Greenport, Southold town. The name 
originally belonged to a limited tract of land, 
although the early settlers so-called the whole 
eastern part of the town as shown by an entry 
of 1659, viz.: "It was ordered that Hashamom- 
muck Neck from Wm. Solmons and John Con- 
kelynnes bounds to the utmost poynt of land agst 
Plumb Gutt," etc. (S. R., vol. i., p. 324). It is 
first mentioned in a certificate dated 1645, but not 
recorded until 1750, one hundred and five years 
afterwards, viz.: "This may serve to certify 
that I, William Salmon, have bought of a man- 
hansuck Indian named Paukamp ... a parcel 
of land comonly called Hashamommock'' (S. R., 
vol. ii., p. 276). Variants are Hashmnamuck, 
i6^g ; Hashamommitck, i6^2>'i Hashamoomuk, 1677; 
Hashshmnamuk, 1680; Hashamomuk, 1684; Har- 
shamomque, 1795; Arshamomaque, 1890. This 
name belongs to Trumbull's Class 3, and is an 
interesting specimen of that class. Hashamomuk 
neck was noted for its running springs of water, 
which made the neck very desirable to the early 
settlers. Hence the name which is derived from 
h'ashim "a spring of water for drinking pur- 
poses"; Massachusetts, ashim, "fountain"; -om, 
"the verb of motion" ; -muck, "where a thing is. " 
Hence H'ashim-om-muck, "where the springs 
flow." See Mashomuck. 



70 Indian Place-Names 

99. Hassock: a creek in the meadow near 
Rockaway Beach (U. S. Coast Survey Map). 

100. Hassock: a tract of meadow near East 
Rockaway Inlet, called "Great Bear Hassock.'" 

loi. Hassock: another tract in same locality, 
called "Black bank Hassock.'" The word is the 
parallel of the Narragansett hassucki, "marsh 
land"; Delaware, assisku, "miry or marshy." 
See Rassapeague. 

102. Hassockey: localities mentioned in the 
early records in connection with marshy tracts of 
land. First in 1657, Records of Jamaica, "Has- 
sokie meadowes" {Col. Hist, of N. Y., vol. xiv., 
p. 505), again in 1682: "It was voted and agreed 
by the major part of the town that the Hassokey 
swamp over against Jonathan Rogers, shall be 
sold at a vandue by the burning of an inch of 
candle" (H. R., vol. i., p. 339). Also Hassokey 
Meadow, 1683. 

103. Hauppauge: a hamlet on the southern 
border of Smithtown. The locality was called 
in the early records of the town "Wheelers," from 
two of the first settlers. Hauppaug road now 
forms part of the boundary between this town and 
Islip. "In 1735, Hauppauge neck containing 1200 
acres, as owned by the Smiths, was only that 



On Lon^ Island 71 

portion of it which lay in Smithtown. The neck 
ran across the town of Islip and was the tract 
included in the Gibbs's patent of 1692" (Mun- 
sell's Hist. Smithtown, p. 39). The locality is a 
swampy section, abounding in springs of running 
water which make the head waters of Wingan- 
hauppauge brook that flow southward through 
the town of Islip, hence the name given to the 
hamlet — ^being the same as the brook with the 
prefix dropped. The traditional meaning "sweet 
water" as given by the various Island historians, 
is inadmissible. It is from the word correspond- 
ing to the Massachusetts (Eliot) dupauk, "over- 
flowed land;" Micmac (Rand) aoompogwa, "to be 
overflowed;" Delaware, chuppegat, " high water, " 
The name was also applied by the Indians to 
springs that flow out and cover the land, which 
fully described the swampy characteristics of 
Hauppauge neck. See Winganhauppauge and Win- 
gatthappagh. 

104. HAuquEBAVGisee Aquebogue. 

105. HocuM: "the neck of land at West Islip, 
generally known as Secatogue, is sometimes called 
Hocum." (Munsell's Hist. Suffolk Co., Islip.) 
"The neck now owned by the Willets family 
was called by the Indians Hocum, the name of 
Secatogue or Sequatake being nearly coextensive 
with the jurisdiction of that tribe" (Thompson's 



72 Inciian Place-Names 

L. I., vol. i., p. 448). The above statement is 
not founded on facts, for the neck was no doubt 
called Secatogue; on it was located their principal 
village at the era of settlement. Consequently, 
the term Secatogue could not have designated 
their whole territory. Hocum was perhaps a 
name of one of the chiefs who resided here, or 
it may have been descriptive of some part of the 
neck, "hook-shaped," from a word corresponding 
to the Narragansett (R. Williams) hoquaun; 
Delaware, hoquaaji, "a hook"; perhaps related 
to Hoaham, Hoham, Hooham (Nelson, Pers. 
Names of Inds. of N. J., 1904, p. 20), the name 
of several Delaware sachems (a. f. c). 

106. Hoggenoch: a supposed Indian name, 
now applied by the owner, C. A. Lamont, Esq., 
to "Little Hog Neck" near Sag Harbor. It is a 
corrupted form of Hog Neck, so spelled by mis- 
take in the Dongan Patent for Southampton, 
Dec. 6, 1686. 

107. HoHOSBOCO: creek in the southern part 
of Newtown, Queen's Co. An Indian deed, 
Oct. 3, 1662, has: "neck of meadow land com- 
monly called Plunder's Neck, bounded on the east 
by the river Hohosboco" (Riker's Annals of 
Newtown, p. 53). 

1 08 . Homes : a hill at ' ' North Sea, ' ' Southamp- 



On Long Island 73 

ton town. The records show that on "Apr. 28, 
1670, Robert Fordham sells a peice of land at 
a place called Whomeses" (S. H. R., vol. ii., pp. 
3, 26). This tract was located near the place now 
known as ''Homes' Hill." W. S. Pelletreau, Esq., 
informs me that he never was able to find the 
origin of the name. I would suggest that it is 
from the word corresponding to the Narragansett 
homes, "an old man," indicating where at one 
time an old Indian lived. This word was also 
used by the Nissequoque tribe as proven by a 
record of 1663, when Jonas Wood — "went to view 
foure Necks of meadow — and there lived an old 
Homes and his sonne, whose name was Wane- 
quaheag" (Munsell's Hist. S. C, Smithtown, p. i). 
The Sachem Chice (also signifying "an old man") 
signed the Southampton Conveyance of 1793 
(vol. i., p. 5). This word, according to Trumbull, 
characterized old age as entitled to respect, and 
without associating the idea of decrepitude, which 
belongs to homes. 

109. Hoopaninak: an island at Flatlands^ 
King's Co. Mentioned in the Indian deed of 
May 13, 1664, viz.: "both of upland and marshes, 
anyway belonging thereto, as the Straun Beach or 
Beaches, as namely that running out more wester] y 
with the Island adjoining, and is at the same time 
by the ocean sea wholly inclosed, called hoopan- 
inak, etc." (Stiles's Hist. King's Co.,\ p. y8). 



74 Indian Place-Names 

The Island, "by the ocean sea wholly inclosed," 
is what is referred to in this deed. The word 
kupp-anahan-ak means "the inclosed or shut in 
island-place," from hoop corresponding to Dela- 
ware kuppdsk; Massachusetts kuppi, "to inclose," 
"to shut in"; manahan-ak, "island place" 
(manahan, "island"; -ak, "place"). 

no. Ihpetonga: a name bestowed upon 
Brooklyn Heights in the city of Brooklyn by 
Henry R. Schoolcraft, who says "The voca- 
bulary of the Mohegans affords, however, a few 
other terms, the application of which may well be 
assumed from their etymology. The heights of 
Brooklyn are graphically described in the term 
Ihpetonga; thatis, "high sandy banks" (Gowans's 
Bihliotheca Americana, vol. i., p. 26), He derives 
it probably from the Chippewa ishpakumiga, 
"bank of earth," instead of the Mohegan aspetong; 
Massachusetts (Eliot), aspohtag, "a height"; 
the word being paralleled by the Delaware 
achwowangeu, "high sandy banks." See Al- 
gonguian Series, vol. "ii., pp. 46-49. See also 
Aquehonga Manacknong. 

111. Irabash: seeJabash. 

112. Jabash: a cove on the east side of Shin- 
necock neck half way from the head of the creek 
to the point. (Letter from Wm. S. Pelletreau.) 



On Lon^ Island 75 

Called by one of the Indians residing on the neck, 
^^ Ir abash cove." 

113. Jamaica: village and town in the south- 
western part of Queen's Co. "The name by 
which the town is designated has been variously 
accounted for, but the prevalent opinion is that 
there was once a family of Indians who resided 
near the bay, south of the Beaver Pond, who were 
known as the ' Jameco^ Indians" (Thompson's 
L. I., vol. ii., p. 96). In the certificate of pur- 
chase, dated 1656, we find: "Living at ye new 
plantacon neare unto ye bever pond, comonly 
called Jema^'ca" (Thompson's L. /., vol. ii., p. 97). 
The early records give the name almost invariably 
as " Yemacah." Variations are Jamaick, 1666; 
Jameca, i6y8 ; Jamaicah, 1696; etc. Flint in his 
Early Long Island (1896, p. 198) gives a form 
Jemaco. The reference to the Beaver Pond gives 
considerable insight into the origin of the name 
as does also the ancient form of spelling. The 
locality was probably so designated on account 
of the beavers found living at the pond formed by 
the dam, which they had made. The name is 
the parallel of the Delaware tamaqua, tamaque; 
Abnaki, temd'kSe; Narragansett, tummock; Massa- 
chusetts, tummunk, "beaver." Similar sugges- 
tions, deriving the word from the Mohegan 
antique, "a beaver," appeared in the Brooklyn 
Standard Union Newspaper, for March 19, 1882. 



76 Indian Place-Names 

114. Kahaijongh: a brook in Islip at Bay 
Shore. "About half mile west of Orawac brook, 
another stream runs down rejoicing under the two 
names of Kahaijongh and Awixa'' (Bayles's 
Sketches of Suffolk Co.). This is another form 
of Cagoqunk or Cachinncak. See Cachinncak and 
Cagoqunk. 

115. Kantuck: a locality in the town of 
Oyster Bay, Queen's Co. It is a wild, hilly, and 
swampy combination at the head of a large body 
of salt meadow. The brook Checkachagin or 
Choggin flows through the locality. (Informa- 
tion by Geo. W. Cocks, Esq.) 

116. Kanungum: a pond at the extreme 
northwestern bounds of Southampton town. The 
pond being a widening of the Peconic River at 
Calverton, R.iverhead town. It is mentioned 
once only in the book of proprietors' records, 
Southampton town, as ''Kanungum pond" (Let- 
ter from Wm. S. Pelletreau). Varied as Conun- 
gum and Conungam. Prime's Hist, of L. I. 
gives the bounds of Southampton, as follows: 
"To the head of Peconic Bay thence west to 
Kanungum Pond, through which the Peconic 
River passes. From this point the western 
bounds is a straight line south about 10° to Sea- 
tuck creek." The name denotes "a boundary," 
from a word corresponding to the Massachusetts 



On Long Island 77 

(Eliot) kuhguttum, "determined," "fixed"; kuh- 
kuhguttum, "bounds"; kuhhtmhunkanash, "the 
bounds." The same name appears in Massa- 
chusetts attached to a pond called Chaubunagon- 
gum, which gave the name to an Indian village in 
close proximity called Chaubunakongkomuk, "the 
boundary inclosed place," "boundary village." 
See Konkhunganik. 

117. Kaskutensuken : see Castateum. 

118. Yj^tawamkke'. Katawamac: Crab Mead- 
ow, Huntington town. "In December 1685, Gov. 
Dongan made a grant to Judge John Palmer 
and John Roy see of New York, all the lands be- 
tween Cow Harbor [Northport] and Fresh Pond, 
bounded south by the road to Smithtown and 
called Crab Meadow, or by the Indians ' Kata- 
wamac' " (Hon. Chas. R. Street; Munsell's 
Hist.S.C). On April 21, 1702, "Isaac De Riemer 
and others petition for a tract of unpatented land 
to the eastward of Huntington, and to the west- 
ward of Nessequack, commonly called by the In- 
dians Katawamake, and in English Crab Meadow" 
(Land Papers, vol. iii., p. 61, Office Secretary 
of State). See Arhakaamunk. 

119. Keemiscomock : "A little brook which 
divides the shores of Saghtekoos, or Apple tree 
neck, was called by the Indians Keemiscomock, or 



78 Indian Place-Names 

Weepoose'' (Bayles's Sketches of Suffolk Co., p. 
210). No earlier authority than the above has 
been found, and Mr. Bayles was unable to recall 
where he obtained it. The name denotes "a 
secret enclosed place, " "a. place of refuge." The 
components of the word are keemis, corresponding 
to Massachusetts kemeu, "it is secret"; ^iW (Del- 
aware), "secret"; kimSi (Abnaki) "en cachette"; 
and -comock = komuk, "enclosed place, " the second 
component. 

120. Keskaechquerem : a village of the 
Canarsie Indians, near Flatlands, King's County. 
In 1638, "Kakapoteyiio, Menqiienian, and Su- 
wiran, chiefs of Keskaechquerem transferred to the 
Noble Lords, Directors of the West India Co. 
a peice of land lying on Long Island, etc." Also 
mentioned in 1642 in a "Lease for a plantation 
situate on the Flatland near Keskaechqueren'' 
{Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., pp. 14, 36). This 
name is probably related to the Narragansett (R. 
Williams's Key, chap, xxviii) : " Keesaqunnamun, a 
kind of solemne, publicke meeting wherein they 
lie under the trees, in a kinde of Religious observa- 
tion and have a mixture of Religion and sports." 
See Algonqiiian Series, vol. ii., p. 33. 

121. Kestateuw: see Castateum. 

122. Ketanomocke: Indian village at Hunt- 
ington, L. I. A deed from Wm. Jones to Robert 



On Long Island 79 

Seely , Dec. 22, 1 662 , says : ' ' Theophilus Eaton, Esq. , 
late Governor of New Haven Colony, deceased, unto 
whom the lands mentioned were given or granted 
by Rusurocon Sagamor of Cutunomack in the pre- 
sence of sundry Indians — have, etc." (H. R., 
vol. i., p. 43). A certificate dated Aug. 17, 1663, 
states that a deed of Eaton's Neck was given to 
Theophilus Eaton in 1646, viz.: "we . . . testifie 
that Resorokon Sagamore of Ketanomocke of 
Long Island now called by the English Hunting- 
ton, Did give and grant to Theophilus Eaton, 
Esq. and Governor of New Haven, etc." (H. R., 
vol., i., p. 49). Also occurs as Ketewomoke. 
This was probably one of the palisadoed villages 
of the tribe and where the Sachem Resorokon's 
big house or wigwam was located at that period 
(1646), but not the place from which the tribal 
name of Mati?i7iicock was derived. Resorokon, or 
Raseokan in other deeds, is called the Sagamore 
of Matinnicoke. Sec'y Van Tienhoven of New 
Netherlands, 1650, wrote of what is probably the 
village: "the smallest stream runs up in front 
of the Indian village, called Martinne houck, 
where they have their plantations. This tribe 
is not strong and consists of about 30 families. 
There were formerly in and about this bay, great 
numbers of Indian Plantations, which now lie 
waste and vacant" {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. i., p. 
366). This name must be assigned to Trumbull's 
Class 3,^*.e., "those formed from verbs, denoting 



8o Indian Place-Names 

a place where the action of the verb is performed. " 
The first part ketan (Narragansett kitthan) 
signifies "the sea"; -om is the verb of motion in 
its simple iovm.\-muck having the termination 
of the third person singular of the conditional 
present passive, "where or when a thing is." 
Hence we have Ketan-om-muck, "where the sea 
flows," "the shore," or "beach." Ruttenber 
confuses this name with that of Crab Meadow. 
See Arhakaamunk. 

123. Ketchaponack : a neck of land in the 
western part of Southampton town on Quantuck 
Creek, West Hampton Post Office. It is first 
found recorded in 1663, viz.: "Whereas Capt. 
Scott and ye town committee agreed for Quaquan- 
antuck without specifying in the agreement or 
Indenture that he reserved 5 acres of salt marsh in 
Ketcheponack neck," etc. (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 38). 
Variations are Catchponack, 1681; Catchaponack 
1683; Ketchaponack, i'J2)2; Ketchahonack, 1738; 
Ketchabonnack, 1782; Dr. J. H. Trumbull, by 
mistake, locates the neck on Shinnecock Bay, 
viz.: ^'Ketchaponack, Catchehonnuc, a neck on 
Shinnecock Bay, Southampton, was a 'place of 
the largest roots ' (kehche- pen-auk) , i. e. , the largest 
species of esculent roots found in that neighbor- 
hood. In some parts of the country the name 
would indicate the yellow water lily (Nuphar 
advena), Josselyn's 'water lily with yellow flowers; 



On Long' Island 8i 

the Indians eat the roots, which are long in 
boihng. They taste Hke the Hver of a sheep' 
(N. E. Rarities, p. 44). The Long Island kehche- 
pen may have been the Arrowhead {Sagittaria) , 
the katness of the Delaware Indians, the root of 
which is sometimes 'as big as a man's fist.' It 
was eaten either boiled or roasted; its name was 
transferred by the Indians to the turnip, intro- 
duced by Europeans" {Mag. Amer. Hist., vol. i., 
pp. 386-7). W. S. Pelletreau, Esq. (Ind. Geog. 
Names in Suffolk Co., 1883) translates it as "land 
where the great ground-nuts grow." John Smith 
in his Generall Historie of Virginia ( 1624, 
Book I, p. 17) says: "ground-nuts as big as 
egges, as good as potatoes, and 40 on a string, 
not two inches under ground, were found on the 
Elizabeth Islands off the Coast of New England, 
during Capt. Gosnell's voyage, 1602." See Aca- 
bonack, Sagaponack, and Seponack. 

124. Ketumpscut: "President Stiles, on the 
authority of Adam Babcock, Esq. in 1671, gives 
this as the Indian name of the west end of Fisher's 
Island; but it belonged originally at the east end 
(modern Catumh reef) and means 'at the great 
rock;' keht-ompsk-iit'' (Trumbull's Indian Names 
in Conn.). See Catumb. 

125. KiLLis: a pond at Bridgehampton, South- 
ampton town. According to Prime's History 



82 Indian Place-Names 

of Long Island, this name is derived from an 
Indian who formerly Hved near the pond. An- 
other tradition is that it is the name of an Indian 
who was drowned in its waters. Killis still sur- 
vives among the Shinnecocks as a family name, 
but Wm. S. Pelletreau, Esq., informed the writer 
that this was a corruption of "Achilles." On 
searching the old records. Prime's statement is 
found to be in error and that the name was 
originally derived from "John Kelly," or "Kel- 
lie," who was allotted land in this neighborhood; 
the early form being "Kellies Pond." 

126. KiosHK: Ellis' Island, New York Harbor, 
means "Gull Island." The name was taken from 
the Chippewa and bestowed upon the Island by 
Henry R. Schoolcraft in 1845 (Gowans's Biblio- 
theca Americana). In Chippewa, "gull" is 
gaiashk or kaiashk, corresponding to Cree, kiydsk. 

127. KiscASUTTA: "a point of trees" on the 
great plain, N. E. of Hempstead. Mentioned in 
a land grant to Robert Williams, 1666 (Town 
patents, vol. i., pp. 69, 70, Office of Sec'y of 
State, Albany, N. Y.). This point of trees is 
frequently referred to in many of the ancient 
documents relating to the boundaries between 
the towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay. First 
in the confirmation of the sale of Hempstead by 
the Indians, May 11, 1658, viz.: "Pointe of Trees 



On Lon^ Island 8$ 

adjoining to the land of Robert Williams where 
we left marked trees" (Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. 
xiv., p. 416). In testimony before the Governor 
in relation to land claimed by Tackapousha, the 
Massapeage Sachem, June 22, 1677, Mr. Gilder- 
sleeve, aged about 76, testifies: "And the East 
line at a Pointe of trees that parts Robert Williams 
and us where the Indians marked some trees and 
from ye marked trees northward" {Col. Hist. 
N. F., vol. xiv., p. 729). Kiscasutta is the Long 
Island equivalent of the Delaware (Zeisberger) 
inshasu, "to mark"; giskhasu, "to chop"; -ittuck 
"trees"; thus "marked trees," "trees chopped" 
or "blazed" for a boundary mark, as referred to 
in the above testimony of Mr. Gildersleeve. See 
Cantiague and Cantasquntah. 

128. Kissena: a pond at Flushing, Queen's 
Co. This is not a Long Island name, but a later- 
naming of a pretty sheet of water from the 
Chippewa (Baraga) kissina, "it is cold." 

129. KiTCHAMiNCHOK, KetcMninchoge: now 
called Moriches Island, on the north shore of the 
Great South Bay, at East Moriches. It is sepa- 
rated from the mainland by a very narrow strait, 
and contains about 50 acres of land and meadow 
with a small pond. On July 28, 1659, Wiandance, 
Sachem of Pawmanack, sold to Lyon Gardiner 
"all the bodys and bones of all the whales that 



84 Indian Place-Names 

shall come upon the land, or come ashore, from 
the place called Kitchaminjchoke, unto the place 
called Enoughquamuck, only the fins and tayles, 
of all we reserve for ourselves and Indians with 
the consent of Wannuggeashcum [Winecroscum] 
and Tawbaughauz [Tobacus] Sachems of the places 
aforesaid" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 34). Examination 
of the original word shows that the (f) is intrusive, 
and an error of the printer. It is also mentioned 
in the will of Col. Matthew Howell (Oct. 13, 1704) 
who leaves "son Israel ^ of ;^ of an Island 
called Ketchininchoge'' (Pelletreau's Abstracts of 
Wills, Sea-Side Times, Southampton, Sept. 27, 
1888). This name is a simple boundary designa- 
tion, no doubt bestowed at the time the grant 
was given. The first component, kitcha {ketchi, 
cochi, chike) connotes "a going on from a begin- 
ning"; cognate with Massachusetts kutche, "it 
begins"; Narragansett kitche, it "begins," etc. 
The other component -minchok, -menchoake is 
the Montauk munchoage, "an island." Hence the 
name Kitche-minchoake, "the beginning island," 
which is a good etymology. See Cochiminchoake. 

130. KoNKHUNGANiK : the name of the south- 
ern part of Fort Pond, Montauk, Easthampton 
town, generally applied by historians to the whole 
part. First noted in the Indian deed of 1661, 
viz.: "All the peice or neck of land belonging to 
Montauk land westward to a fresh pond in a 



On Long Island 85 

beach, the name of the pond being Quanuntowunk 
on the north and Konkhunganik on the south," 
(Hedges's Address, 1849). It appears also as 
Konhhonganik (Ranger's Deeds, 1850). Other 
variations are Kongonock, Konkhonganik (original 
deed in possession of the Bensons), Konhhon- 
ganik, Konk-hong-anok, Konhunganock, being er- 
roneous multiplications from the original record. 
This pond was the eastern limit of the grant, and 
the exact line was defined by a fence, which the 
Indians by the terms of the deed were obliged 
"to secure on ye southside of ye aforesaid pond, 
from all Cattle, During the time their corn is upon 
the ground." A fence still stands, as it has done 
for the past two hundred years, on the same line. 
The name Konkhunganik signifies "at the bound- 
ary, " or " to the line, " the parallel of the following 
Algonkian terms, Massachusetts, kuhkuheganit, "to 
the line" (Eliot: Isaiah, xxviii., 17); kukhun- 
hunkganish, "the bounds" (Acts xvii., 26) ; kuhkoh- 
hamoonk, "by line" (Psalms Ixxviii., 55) ; Delaware 
(Zeisberger) kikhican, "boundary"; Chippewa 
(Baraga) kikaigan, "mark to guide travellers." 
See Kanungum and Ronkonkoma. 

131. Ligonee: a swamp and brook at Sag 
Harbor. The brook, flowing from Long Pond 
into the cove at the "North side," is the south- 
western boundary of the corporate limits of the 
village and has been a famous place for alewife 



86 Indian Place-Names 

fishing for many years. The brook is not natural 
but dug by the fisherman. I find it on record in 
1726, viz.: "Laying out of Highway from Sage 
to ye harbor and so runs in that road near ye east 
end of ye Long pond and to run northward to ye 
slade that comes up from ye head of Liganee 
swamp" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 192). Variations 
are Leganee 1733; Litganee, 1849. This name is 
not Indian, as has been supposed, but English 
folk-lore, from a man who sank in the swamp 
"Leg an' knee." There are many names here- 
abouts of similar origin, like "Soak hides," 
"Scuttle-hole," etc. 

132. LusAM: "Jericho (Oyster Bay), the In- 
dian name of which is Lusam, is a pleasant village 
near the centre of the town, upon the Jericho 
turnpike road, 27 miles from the city of New 
York" (Thompson's L. I., vol. i., p. 504). In 
1682, the Indians sell to John Townsend: "50 
acres on east side of cartway from Muskceta Cove 
to ye farme called Lusam or Robert Williams plan- 
tation. " In 1689, is mentioned "Sarah Williams, 
widow of Robert Williams of Jericho alias Lusam. " 
Thompson probably derives his authority from 
these records. The name is probably not Indian, 
but a contraction from the name of a village in 
England called Lewisham, now a part of London. 

133. Macutteris: a locality at Flatlands, 



On Lon^ Island 87 

King's Co. Mentioned in the Indian deed of 
May 13, 1664, viz. : "both of upland and marshes, 
anyway belonging thereto, as the Straun Beach 
or Beaches, as namely that running out more 
westerly, with the Island adjoining and is at the 
same time by the ocean sea wholly inclosed, 
called hoopaninak and shanscomacocke and macut- 
teris, etc." (Stiles's Hist. King's Co., p. y^). This 
word is probably related to the Narragansett 
moskituash, "a meadow," and the name refers 
to the marshes sold in the above deed. 

134. Madnans, Madnank: Great Neck, North 
Hempstead, Queen's Co. Thompson says: "The 
name of Great Neck was Madnank called by the 
early settlers Madnans'' (Proceedings, N. Y. 
Hist. Soc, 1845). The early forms Madnans 
or Mad-Nans in 1672 {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., 
p. 667) suggest that the name is not of Indian 
origin, but may have been so-called from some 
crazy squaw or white woman. Again, Madnank 
may be abbreviated from a longer name, for it 
seems to contain the inseparable generic adene, 
"hill," and auke, "land," or "place," signifying 
therefore some kind of a "hilly place." 

135. Mahchongitchuge : a swamp in the 
North Neck, Montauk, This name is found 
recorded in the Indian deed of 1670, for the land 
between the ponds as follows: "from thence to 



88 Indian Place-Names 

the swamp where the hay stacks stood called 
Mahchongitchnge, and so through the swamp to 
the great pond" (Hedges's Address, 1849). It 
appears also as Mahchongitchigo (Ranger's Deeds, 
1 850) . This name is susceptible of two definitions, 
if we apply the Algonkian mode of compounding 
names: Mahchong = machaug (Narragansett, R. 
Williams), "a swamp;" -itchug, either Massa- 
chusetts muskechoge, "a place of rushes," or 
chip-pitchoge, "a place of separation," "a turn- 
ing place," from the fact of its being a bound- 
mark. The last may be nearer correct and denote 
"the swamp place of separation." 

136. Makeopaca: a locality at Gravesend, 
King's Co. Mentioned in the Indian deed of 
July 20, 1684: "For a certain parcel of land 
commonly called by the Indians Makeopaca, 
beginning at the most eastward end of the beach 
called by the Indians Moeung, bounded on the 
westmost side by the land heretofore purchased 
from Chippahig, and on the eastward side by a 
creek commonly called the Strome Kill, and soe 
along from the head of said creek, through the 
middle of the meadow and valley till they come 
to a white-oak tree standing by the Flatland 
wagon path and soe running to another white-oak 
tree standing by Utrecht wagon path, and soe 
on a direct line to the Flatbush fence, and upon 
the west side bounded by the field of Utrecht" 



On Lon^ Island 89 

(Stiles's Hist. King's Co., p. 162), This was a 
large tract of land, probably cleared for cultiva- 
tion by the whites before its purchase or else clear 
naturally. The name denotes "a great clearing" 
or ' ' openfield.' ' The components corresponding to 
Delaware mec^a; Massachusetts, masha, "great"; 
paca = pauqu-auke, ' ' open land. ' ' Trumbull shows 
this Algonkian name curiously disguised in 
Tippecanoe (Kentucky and Indiana) which is a 
corrupted abbreviation of Kehti-paquonunk, "at 
the great clearing," the site of an Indian town 
on the Wabash River. Filson (Hist, of Kentucky) 
wrote it: Kathtippacanunck. J. P. Dunn, how- 
ever (Handb. of Amer. Inds. N. of Mex., vol. i., 
1907, p. 759), thinks that Tippecanoe is ior Kitdp- 
wdnunk, "buffalo-fish place," the river at that 
place being named by the Miami Indians from 
kitdpkwan, "buffalo-fish" (a. f. c). 

137. Mamanock: a neck of land at East 
Moriches, Brookhaven town. On Sept. 25, 1693, 
Aug, Graham surveyed for Doctor Henry Taylor 
and another "two necks of land called by ye name 
of Marigies and Mamanock.'" A deed of 1691 
mentions Meritces and Mamanok Necks lying 
together (Thompson's L. I., vol. i., p. 417). 
Other variations are Mar itches and Mamanntick, 
i6<^'j. The first component of this name, maman, 
signifies "to join, " "to unite, " as in the Chippewa 
mamawissin, "it joins together"; the other com- 



90 Indian Place-Names 

ponent is the locative -ock or -aiike. The name, 
therefore, signifies "land united or joined (to 
some other tract)," as in the above, it was "land 
joined to Meritce's Neck." See Moriches. 

138. Manantic: a neck and creek in the west- 
ern part of Shelter Island. The name is tradi- 
tional, found only on the maps of the Island and in 
local parlance. It is pronounced Me'nan'tic by 
the Shelter Island people. This is not the parallel 
of Delaware menantic, "a spruce or cedar swamp" 
(as some might suppose), but describes the creek, 
which has a small island at its outlet ; viz. : Manan, 
' ' an island ' ' ; -tic = -tuck, ' * a tidal stream. ' ' Hence 
"an island creek" is the meaning of Manantic. 

139. Manchonack: Gardiner's Island, East 
Hampton town. The island is so named in the 
Indian deed to Lyon Gardiner, May 3, 1639, as 
follows: "knowe all men by these presents, that 
we Yovawaji Sachem of Pommanocc and Aswaw 
Sachem his wife for ten coats of trading cloath 
to us before the making hereof payed and delivered 
by Lion Gardiner commander of the forte called 
Saybrook fort als Pashpeshauks at the mouth of the 
River of Kennecticut doe hereby for us and our 
heirs and successors grant, bargaine and sell unto 
the said Lion Gardiner all that our Island called 
Manchonat" (Lechford's Note Book, Archceo- 
logia Americana, vol. vii., pp. 207, 208). Variants 



On. Lon^ Island 91 

are Manchonacke, 1639; Monchoneck, 1655; Man- 
chonacke, 1659; Monchongamuc, 1840. On Gar- 
diner's Island is preserved an old memorandum 
book, containing the vocabulary of the Montauks 
given to Lyon Gardiner, the 7th Proprietor, 
March 25, 1798, by George Pharaoh, then aged 66, 
and the chief of this tribe. In this short list of 
words is Mashongonoc (Gardiner's Island), "a 
place where a vast number of people had died of 
a distemper." Gardiner wrote on another page, 
Oct. 1802: "The Isle of Wight or Gardiner's 
Island in Indian is pronounced Mashong-o-noc 
and spelled in old writings Manchannock—man 
signifies Island — and the remainder signifies a 
place where many people had died. The Indians 
on Montauk have a tradition that a little before 
the English came a distemper had carried off 
nearly all the Indians, — they say it was not the 
small-pox, perhaps yellow fever." This meaning 
is probably the correct one. The name is derived 
from the same radical as Narragansett man- 
chahhom, "the dead man"; literally, "he has 
gone;" Massachusetts, moncheog (Eliot), "we 
departed"; monchu (Eliot), "go ye"; monche- 
Omwog (Eliot), "they have gone." This makes 
Mancheog-0-auke — "land of the departed." 

140. Manetuck: a neck of land in Islip town, 
west of Bay Shore. On "Sept. i, 1701, the 
Indians sell to Thomas Willets two necks of land 



92 Indian Place-Names 

called Manetuc and Watchogiie, bounded west by 
the river called Compawams, east by the river 
Watchogiie, south by the salt bay, and to extend 
northward, keeping the full breadth of said necks, 
as far as the north side of the pines" (Thomp- 
son's L. I., vol. i., p. 447); also a deed of March 
2, 1705, by the Van Cortlandts to John Mowbray, 
"bounded east by neck called Marihtak. " Varia- 
tions are Manetuc, Mantash, Manshtak, Marihtak, 
Manetuck, etc. I, at one time, considered this a form 
of Manatuck, a name given to hills throughout 
New England, and denoting "a place of observa- 
tion," "a look out" (Trumbull). This meaning 
would not apply to this neck of land, as far as its 
hilly qualities are concerned. 1 now regard it as 
corresponding to Delaware menantak, "a pine 
swamp"; Zeisberger gives mena?itac, "a spruce, 
pine or cedar swamp." This fully describes the 
neck and this etymology seems to be confirmed 
by the mention of "pines" in the earliest deed. 

141. Manhansack - Ahaquatuwamock : the 
full Indian appellation of Shelter Island. The 
earliest record we have been able to find is dated 
March 23, 1652, viz.: "We whose names are here 
underneath subscribed doe hereby testify and 
declare that Yokee formerly Sachem of Man- 
hansick ahaquatuwamock now called Shelter Island 
did on the three and twentieth of March 1652, give 
full Possession unto Capt. Nathaniel Silvester 



On Long Island 93 

and Ensigne John Booth of the aforesaid Island 
of Ahaquatuwaniock with all that belonged to the 
same" (S. R., vol. i., p. 158). Again in 1656: 
"all that their Islands of Ahaqiiatuwamuck other- 
wise called Menhansack" (E. H. R., vol. i., p. 
97) ; Menhansack-ahagiiashu-wornock (Thompson's 
L. /.); Man-han-sac-kah-aguash-9-om-uk (Hors- 
ford), "Island at the river mouth and sheltered 
much stockade place." Traditionally, "an island 
sheltered by islands," is an offhand translation 
and nearer right than Horsford's labored meaning. 
The name is made up as follows : Menhansack or 
menhansett, "the island neighborhood; ''ahaquatu, 
"sheltered" or "covered," cognate with Dela- 
ware ehachquihasu, "clad," "covered"; Massa- 
chusetts, onk(S)wohquass^ (Eliot), "a shelter"; 
Micmac, apkoouase, "to take shelter." The 
terminal affix -amuck, "a fishing place," occurs 
more often than -omuk, "a place limited." I 
therefore make the name Manhan-es-et-ahaquas- 
soD-amuck, "the island neighborhood much shel- 
tered their fishing place. " See Algonquian Series, 
vol. vii., pp. 25-30, for a discussion of this word. 
See also Manhansett. 

142. Manhansett: name by which Shelter 
Island is generally known. An entry dated May 
8, 1656, says: — "And whereas the said James 
ff arrest by deed under hand and scale bearing date 
the eighteenth oi May one Thousand six hundred 



94 Indian Place-Names 

ffortie and one . . . conveyed unto Stephen 
Goodyear of New Haven, Merchant his heirs and 
assigns forever the aforesaid Island of Menhan- 
sack" (E. H. R., vol. i., p. 96). Variants are 
Munhansett, 1648; Manhansett, 1657; Manhan- 
sack, 1665. The name has been interpreted by 
Prof. E. W. Horsford as "island at the river 
mouth." The early form shows this to be an 
error, for the reason that the affix is not -sec or 
-suck, but is the diminutive -es-et, "at," "about," 
etc. That of 1652, Manhansick is evidently an 
error of spelling, for Amagansett occurs with the 
same. Besides Shelter Island is not by any 
possibility "land at a river mouth," but "island 
land, or neighborhood" describes it perfectly. 
See the previous name. See Manhansack-Aha- 
quatuwamock and Manhasset. 

143. Manhansuck: a brook in Southold town, 
now called Pipe's Neck Creek. It flows into the 
harbor just west of Greenport and has a small 
island of woods at its mouth. It is mentioned 
in Farrett's deed to Richard Jackson, Aug. 15, 
1640, as follows: "ffifty acres of meadow and 
upland lying and being uppon the north of the 
River called Manhansuck in Long Island, to the 
eastward of the place commonly called the ffive 
wigwams" (S. R., vol. i., p. 112). As copied from 
the original record, the name is Manhansuck. 
The late J. Wickham Case says, "The place 



On Long Island 95 

called the 'Five Wigwams' has lost all marks 
of identification. It may have been upon Pipe's 
Neck, but I am inclined to think it was upon the 
small island of woods, belonging now to the estate 
of Jeremiah Moore, deed., at the mouth of Pipe's 
Neck Creek" (S. R., vol. i., p. 113, Note). The 
wigwams could not have been located on the 
island, for it was the small island that gave the 
name to the creek, viz.: Manhan-suck, "an island 
brook," or "island at the outlet," from manhan 
"island"; -suck, "brook," "outlet." I think the 
five wigwams were on Hashamomuk Neck. See 
Sonnquoquas. 

144. Manhasset: a name now given to a 
village, and to the neck of land formerly called 
Cow Neck, Oyster Bay, Queen's Co. "Cow 
Neck, celebrated for its fine pasture lands, has 
become by some strange metamorphosis Man- 
hasset, the name of an Indian tribe once inhabit- 
ing Shelter Island" (Thompson's L. I., vol. ii., 
p. 302). Prime derives the name from the same 
source. See Manhansett. 

145. Manhattan: an Island and Borough of 
that great civic consolidation, New York City. 
The earliest appearance of the name is on a map 
discovered in the general archives of Simancas, 
Spain, made in 1607 (Brown's Genesis of the U. S., 
p. 456), where it is given as Manahatin, which I 



96 Indian Place-Names 

regard as a very pure form. The "Carte Figura- 
tive" of 1616 has it Manhattes, and so in 1626, 
when purchased from the Indians. The other 
variations are: Manahatas, 1630; Munatthans, 
1 631; Manhattos, 1632; Manlmtton, 1633; Man- 
hattans, 1637, etc. Heckewelder wrote: "It is 
added in return for their civiUties the natives 
were made to taste intoxicating drinks, and that 
in order to commemorate the event they called 
the Island thereafter Mamiahattanink, 'the place 
of drunkenness of madness from drinking.' " 
Schoolcraft, however, in a report on aboriginal 
names (Trans., N. Y. Hist. Soc, 1844) asserts 
this to be "sheer inference, unsupported by 
philology," and gives as the correct name of the 
Island, Moiiahtamik, descriptive of the whirlpool 
at Hellgate. Thus do two noted linguists dis- 
agree, — when in fact both are wrong. Benson, 
in his memorial (read before the N. Y. Hist. Soc. 
in 1 816) gives the meaning as being the "town on 
the Island," and quotes extracts to prove it, viz.: 
"town of Majihattatt," "townsmen of the Manhat- 
toes," etc. The true etymology is indicated by 
the early form from Spanish sources, viz. : Mana- 
hatin, from manah "an island," -atin, "a hill," 
"the hill island." Other etymologies have been 
suggested, none of which are acceptable. For a 
full study of this name, see Algonquian Series, 
vol. i. See also Brooklyn Eagle Almanac, 1897, 
pp. 279-283. 



On Long Island 97 

146. Manisses: Block Island, Long Island 
Sound. In Lyon Gardiner's Relation of the 
Pequot War, Miantemonie, the Narragansett 
Sachem, is reported to have said to the Mon- 
tauks: "I am come to you privately first, be- 
cause you can persuade the Indians and Sachem 
to what you will, and I will send over fifty In- 
dians to Manisses and thirty to you from thence, 
and take an hundred of the Shinnecock Indians 
with an hundred of your own here, and when you 
see the three fires that will be made forty days 
hence, in a clear night, then do as we, and the 
next day fall on and kill men, women, and children, 
but no cows, for they will serve to eat till our deer 
be increased again." The Indians of Manisses 
were frequent visitors to the Montauks. This 
was made a point of in Ayres's Legends of 
Montauk (1849): 

"But yester-e'en, the sun went down 
Upon Manisses' walls of stone. 
Where I with three brave followers came 
To watch the evening's dying flame." 

Parsons's Indian Names of Places in Rhode Island 
(1861) gives the name as " Monasses, Island of 
the little god," but the signification given by 
Trumbull is no doubt the true one, viz, : Manisses, 
"little island" from the diminutive munnoh-es. 



98 Indian Place-Names 

147. Manittuwond: Plum Island, Southold 
town. Roger Williams, in 1637, writes to Gov- 
ernor Vane: "ThePequts are scarce of provision, 
& therefore (as usually so now especially) they 
are in some numbers come down to the seaside 
(& 2 Islands by name Munnawtawkit & Manit- 
tuwond especially) to take sturgeon & other fish, 
as all so to make new fields of come, in case the 
English should destroy their fields at home" 
{Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. vi., 4th series, pp. 
189-190). Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull, in his 
Indian Names in Connecticut, offers no inter- 
pretation of this name. I would suggest that 
it is derived from what they did there, viz. : 
"to make new fields of corne. " The same root 
is found in the Narragansett aukeeteaumen and 
guttdunemun, "to plant corn." Manittuwond 
signifies, therefore, "an island to which they 
went to plant corn." Compare the Delaware, 
minihaking, "corn land"; Chippewa, manddmini- 
kitigan, "Indian corn field"; Massachusetts 
eachi-min-ineatu-konash, "com fields" (St. Luke 
vi, i). See Munnawtawkit. 

148. Mannahanning: Coney Island, King's 
Co. In the Indian release of May 7, 1654: 
"the said Guttaquoh, acknowledges to have sould 
all his right and clayme to said land called Nar- 
riock (the Island) and Mannahaning (the neck) ' ' 
(Thompson's L. I., vol. ii., p. 175). The above in 



On Lon^ Island 99 

parentheses is probably an error of Mr. Thomp- 
son's. They should be reversed. Narriock, "a 
point of land, " applies to the neck; Mannahaning, 
"land on the island," or "island land," to the 
island only. See Minnahanonck. 

149. Mannatto: a high hill and hamlet. 
Oyster Bay, Queen's Co. We find it first on re- 
cord in the Indian deed of Aug. 18, 1695, for the 
tract known as the Bethpage purchase, viz.: 
"att a dirty hole upon ye Brushy plaines, near 
Mannatto Hill, from thence up a hollow on ye 
south side of Mannatto Hill," etc. (Thompson's 
L. I., vol. i., p. 507). Furman gives it as Manet 
or Manetta Hill, and says: "It is Manitou Hill 
or 'hill of the great spirit.' " He gives a tradi- 
tional story to account for the origin of the name 
{Antiquities of L. I.). This is probably as true 
as most of the traditional signification given to 
many of the Long Island Indian names, being 
founded on fancy without a grain of fact. The 
name signifies "a hill surpassing others in the 
same vicinity," being derived from mon, "sur- 
passing," and attin, "a hill," hence "the sur- 
passing or wonderful hill." Mount Monadnock 
in New Hampshire gets its name from Mon- 
adn-ock, ("land or country of the surpassing 
mountain"; mon, "surpassing"; adn, "hill or 
mountain"; ock, auke, "land or countr}^"), being 
thus a parallel to Mannatto. See the discussion of 



100 Indian Place-Names 

Monadnock in the Journal of American Folk- 
Lore, vol. xvii., 1904, pp. 172-174. 

150. Manowtassquot : a creek on the bound- 
ary between the towns of Islip and Brookhaven. 
It has been designated by all the Long Island 
historians as the Indian name of Blue Point, but 
it belonged originally to the creek or river west 
of the point, as proven by the following extract 
from the Fletcher Patent for Islip, 1697 : " Bounded 
easterly by a brook or river to the westward of a 
point called the Blew Point, known by the Indian 
name of Manowtassquot, — easterly to the mouth 
of the Manowtassquot aforesaid" (Thompson's 
L. I., vol. i., p. 443). Walter L. Suydam, Esq., 
perpetuates the name as " Manowtasquott," for 
country-seat at Blue Point. The name denotes 
"a locality where the Indians gathered flags or 
rushes for baskets and mats." The components 
of the word are manowt = M.assachnsetts, manwt, 
pi., mantmash (Eliot), "baskets"; Narragansett, 
munnote, pi. munnotash, "baskets " ; assqu = Massa- 
chusetts, misashquok (Eliot), "bulrushes"; auke, 
"land"; -ut, "at"; mancot-ashqu-auk-Mt, thus 
signifies "at the basket-rush place." Wood 
informs us: "In summer they gather flaggs of 
which they make Matts for houfes and Hemp and 
Rufhes, with dying ftufE of which they make 
curious baskets with intermixed colours and pro- 
tractures of antique imagerie; thefe baskets be of 



On Long Island loi 

all fizes from a quart to a quarter in which they 
carry their luggage " {N. E. Prospect, p. 2, 108). 

151. Mantash, Manshtak. See Manetuck. 

152. Mantoobaugs: a parcel of land on 
Hashamomuk neck, Southold town. It is men- 
tioned in the Indian deed of 1660, that divers 
years since (in 1645) "they, the said Indians 
reserving out of the said neck two swamps . . . 
and a parcel of land thereunto adjoining called 
Mantoobaugs'' (S. R., vol. i., p. 207). From the 
above and the mark of the English possessive 
it is evident that the reasons for reserving the 
tract were because it happened to be the Indian 
Mantoobaugs plantation or corn fields, and where 
one of the five wigwams were located in 1640. 
See Sonnquoquas. 

153. Manunkquiaug : a locality in the North 
Neck, Montauk, East Hampton town. Found 
on record as one of the boundaries in the Montauk 
Indian deed of 1670, viz.: "then straight from 
the hay stacks to the great pond, so along by the 
said pond to a place called Manunkquiaug on 
farthest side the reeds, growing on the end of the 
great pond eastward (Hedges's Address, 1849). 
The name appears also as Manunkquinaug (Ran- 
ger's Deeds, 1850); Manunkquiag (De Kay, 1851). 
Ranger's Deeds has "woods" in place of "reeds" 



102 Indian Place-Names 

as in the above. In the Brooklyri Eagle Almanac 
for 1888 and 1889, I gave the meaning as ''Men- 
haden country," or "fertiHzer land," supposing 
it to be the same as Manunkatuck, Guilford, 
Conn., of which Mr. Trumbull says: "Probably 
' menhaden country ' from munonqiitteau {mun- 
nohquohieau, Eliot), ' that which fertilizes or 
manures land ' — whence comes Narragansett mun- 
nawhatteailg (R. Williams), the Indian name of 
white-fish or bony-fish, 'fertilizers,' now corrupted 
to menhaden." Further study satisfies me that 
this cannot be the derivation of the name, the 
locality on the southern shore of Great Pond — 
on what is now called Ditch Plain, being more or 
less marshy, with flags and reeds, would not be a 
place where these fish could have been taken. I 
am satisfied that it is a form corresponding to the 
Narragansett anuckquaque, "as far as," "the 
extreme limit of," "the ending of either land or 
water"; Chippewa (Baraga) enigokwa, "as wide 
as," enigokwadessing, "as it is wide." Here we 
find the name as the extreme eastern limit of the 
above tract of land, M'anunkqua-auke, "as far 
as the land goes," "end of the land," etc. See 
Wuchebesuck. 

154. Marechkawick, Marychkenwikingh: an 
Indian village on the site of the Borough of 
Brooklyn. In the Indian deed of July 16, 1637, 
for two islands in the Hellegat, is stated: 



On Long Island 103 

"Personally appeared before us Seyseys and Num- 
ers both chiefs of the Marychkenwikingh . . . 
with consent of the community there." Again: 
"a peice of land on Long Island near Merch- 
kawikingh" (Kieft's Patent, 1640). Other vari- 
ants are: Merechkawick, 1643; Marechkawick, 1643; 
"a peice of land at Merechkawick on the Kill 
of Gouwanes," 1643; Reckkenweck, 1643; Reck- 
kenwick, 1647 {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol.. xiv., pp. 5 
et seq.). This name has seen various translations, 
none of which need any extended notice at this 
time. The adjectival merechka is the equivalent 
of the Delaware (Zeisberger) menachkha; Massa- 
chusetts, menehket, "fortified," "fenced," "pali- 
sadoed "; primarily "to make strong with trees," 
The substantival wik (Delaware, wik; Massa- 
chusetts, wek or week, "house," "home"; and 
from it comes wigivam) is the conditional third 
person singular, of the verb "when (or where) 
he is at home," which, with the locative suffix 
makes the Delaware wikink, Massachusetts 
weekit, "at or in his house." This gives us in the 
Delaware, to which dialect this name is closely 
allied, Menachkha-wik-ink, "at his fortified or 
palisadoed house." This refers, no doubt, to 
its being the residence of the Sachems. See 
Algonquian Series, vol. ii., pp. 15-21. 

155. Marossepinck: Indian village in South 
Oyster Bay. This is the Dutch notation for 



104 Indian Place-Names 

Massapeague. The Indian deed of Jan. 15, 1639, 
says: "We Director and Council of New Nether- 
land, etc., testify and declare that to day, date 
underwritten personally appeared before us Mecho- 
wodt, chief Sachem of Marossepinck." Variants 
are: Marospinc, 1644; Massepinc, 1656 {Col. Hist. 
N. Y., vol. xvi., pp. 15, 56, 369). Mechowodt was 
the father of Takapousha, Sachem of the Massa- 
peagues at the time of the settlement of Hunting- 
ton. See Massapeague. 

156. Marratooka: a pond and a farm border- 
ing it at Mattituck, Southold town. C. W. Wick- 
ham, Esq., the proprietor of the Marratooka 
Farm informs me by letter that the name was 
varied from Mattituck, first to Marritook and then 
to its present form. See Mattituck. 

157. Marsey : an abbreviation of Massapeague. 
According to the records: "This spring (1653, 
O. S.) the Dutch governor . . . sent one Govert, a 
Dutchman, to Marsey, on Long Island to Nit- 
tanahom the Sagamore, to assist and to do unto him 
what he would have him do. But the Sagamore 
told him he would have nothing to do with it, 
whereupon Govert gave the Sagamore a great 
kittle to be silent, Nittanahan told him he had 
but 20 men and the English had never done him 
wrong and he had no cause to fight against 



On Lon^ Island 105 

them" (Drake's Book of Indians, 8th ed., Book 2, 
p. 79). See Massapeague. 

158. Mashashimuet : name of the springs, on 
south side of the Otter pond, Sag Harbor, now 
included in Mrs. Russell Sage's playground. 
The name is traditional, and was given to me by 
Stephen Pharaoh, of Montauk, and Aunt Ollie, 
an Indian woman, then living at the Northside. 
The locality was the centre of former Indian 
sojourns as shell-heaps bear witness, as well as 
relics discovered, and graves found. In one of the 
latter lately opened, on the hill above the springs, 
was found a fine typical "Monitor pipe" of 
steatite. The name Mash-ashim-et denotes "at 
the great spring, from mash, "great"; ashim, 
"spring"; and the locative, -et, "at." The name 
Mashashimuet has been revived by Mrs. Russell 
Sage and bestowed on the park which she has 
given to Sag Harbor. The park includes the 
Otter pond and its springs. 

1 59. Mashmanock : one of the names for Canoe 
Place Creek, Southampton town. The Indian 
deed of March 14, 1648, to Theophilus Eaton, and 
Stephen Goodyear, for the tract known as Oc- 
quebauck, says: "Together with the Land and 
Meadows, lying on the other side the water, 
Southward, so farr as the creeke Mashmanock, 
which is the fifth creek from the fresh River, 



I06 Indian Place-Names 

towards Shinicock'' (Books of Deeds, vol. ii., p. 
2IO, Office of the Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.). 
This name is probably related to Mashomuck, 
with a slight variation. Mashmanock (Mash- 
mom-ock) signifies ''land or place where there is 
moving or dragging a boat," hence a "Canoe 
Place." See Mashomuck. See also Algonguian 
Series, vol. viii., pp. 41-62, for a discussion of 
the related Virginian tribal name Massawomeke, 
"those who go and come by boat." 

160. Mashomuck: a neck and a point of land 
at the southern extremity of Shelter Island op- 
posite Sag Harbor. The name is traditional, and 
found only on maps and in a few of the Island 
histories, in the forms Meshomac, Marshammock, 
Mashomuk, Mashomuck (U. S. Coast Survey); 
locally Mashom-uk. In the Brooklyn Eagle Alma- 
nac for 1888, 1889, 1890, 1 gave the meaning as the 
"great stockade-place," Massa-komuk, from the 
suggestion of Prof. E. N. Horsford of Cambridge. 
Later investigation, however, compels me to 
reject it. Mushawomuk, Mishaumut, Shawmut, 
as it is variously given, was the name of Boston 
Neck, Mass., and the same name in a variety of 
forms appears in other parts of that State, and in 
Rhode Island. Our name is no doubt of the same 
derivation, of which Trumbull gives the etymo- 
logy, viz.: " Mushwn or Mishwn (Eliot) signifies 
a boat or canoe; more exactly a canoe made by 



On Lon^ Island 107 

hollowing out the trunk of a tree, as distinguished 
from the light and frail bark canoe. In the 
vocabularies of the Algonkian dialects, we find 
the Old Algonkin shiman; Long Island mashuee, 
etc.; in the modern Ojibwa, chemaun ; and 
in the Pequot, meshwe. The verb of simple mo- 
tion, that which expressed the notion of going, 
was in the third person singular of the indicative 
present, (sm, or as Eliot sometimes wrote it with 
the pronominal prefix of the third person, wnjin 
(in the plural (vmwog, "they go"). In combina- 
tion with other words it denotes the direction, 
manner, or agency of going. Eliot writes — 
-ohham and -hom for the singular, as pummohham, 
"he goes by sea," nohham, or nohhom, "he goes by 
sailing, he sails" {en nohhamun, "to sail to," Acts 
XX., 16), sohham (soh-ODm), "he goes forth," etc. 
For wmwog, Roger Williams writes, in the Narra- 
gansett dialect, homwock, "they go." From 
mushivn or meshwe, "boat", and mmwog or hom- 
wock, would be formed mush(sahomwog or some- 
thing like it: "they go by boat," or "by canoe." 
In Roger Williams's Key, we find this phrase as 
one of familiar use in Narragansett, " Comishw- 
hommis? Did you come by boat?" (p. 8); 
" Comish(S>nhom? Go you by water?" (p. 109); 
" Mish(Dnhomwock, they go or come by water," 
i. e., by canoe (p. 72). The Indians never em- 
ployed a verb in the indicative plural as the name 
of a place, but a form very often used for that 



io8 Indian Place-Names 

purpose was what may be termed a conditional 
verbal, or gerundive — having the terminative of 
the third person singular of the conditional- 
present passive in -muk. This form was much 
employed where, in English, we should use the 
infinitive, or an abstract noun. Examples may 
be seen in Eliot's translation of Ecc. iii., 3-7; 
a time to kill — to build up — to weep — to dance; 
where the verb, preceded by the particle adt 
(cf. Latin ad) as nushehteamuk, ayimuk, maumuk, 
pumiikomuk, etc., signifying (where, or, if) there is 
killed, or when killing (building, weeping, etc.) 
is. So Mashauwomuk may be literally translated 
"where there is going by boat, or where they 
go by boat ' ' ; and the name was applicable to any 
place on a river or arm of the sea from which boats 
habitually crossed to the bank or shore opposite, 
— in a word, a ferry (Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc, Dec. 
1866, pp. 376, 379). This I believe to be the 
derivation of our Meshomuk or Mashomuk and 
the location favors this interpretation. The 
residence of the Shelter Island Indians on Sachem's 
Neck was a short distance north. From Mash- 
omuk the settlement of the Montauks at "Three 
Mile Harbor" was easily reached by canoe, also 
Gardiner'^ Island, and the village of the Shin- 
necocks by the trail from Sag Harbor. On 
Cedar (or East) point opposite are found the 
indications of an Indian village; from there the 
trail goes on a straight line to the Indian village 



On Long Island 109 

of Ashawagh at Hands Creek, Three Mile Harbor. 
See Algonquian Series, vol. viii., pp. 40-62. 

161. Maskachoung, Maskutchoung: a neck of 
land in the southeastern bounds of Hempstead, 
where an Indian village was one time located. 
In the articles of agreement between the Governor 
of New Netherlands and Tackaponsha, March 12, 
1656, we find: "That Tackapousha being chosen 
Chief Sachem by all the Indians from Massapeag, 
Maskahuong,'" etc. (Thompson's L. /., vol. ii., p. 
8). The bounds of Hempstead, May 11, 1658, 
were: "att the South Sea by a marked tree 
made in a neck called Mashkutchotmg" {Col. Hist. 
N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 416), The form Maskachoung 
occurs in 1685. This name denotes "grass land, " 
or "on the grass land," and is the equivalent of 
the Chippewa (Baraga) mashkode, "prairie"; Mas- 
sachusetts, mosketuash (Cotton), "grass"; Narra- 
gansett, maskituash, "grass," with the locative 
-ong. The neck is on the south part of the great 
Hempstead plain. Compare Chippewa (School- 
craft maskoding, "prairie"; maskodaong, "in the 
prairie." 

162. Maspeth: a village in Newtown, Queen's 
Co. See Mespaetches. 

163. Masquetux : a neck of land at West Islip. 
On some maps Masquetux, situated between 



no Indian Place-Names 

Apple-tree neck and Compowams. "Next is a 
neck of land called Masquetux bounded on the 
east by a brook of the same name" (Munsell's 
Hist. S. C, Islip). There is a possibility that 
this is a corrupted form of the earlier name for 
this neck, Missatuck or Mispotuck. If not, we 
may find its parallel in the Mohegan Muxguataug, 
"a place of rushes," designating some particular 
part of the neck. See Mispatuck and Missatuck. 

164. Massaback: see Massakack. 

165. Massabarkem : Gravesend Neck, King's 
Co. (De Kay's Indiafi Names on L. I.). The 
confirmatory deed of Gravesend was signed in 
1650 by four Indian Sachems, who called the 
Indian name of the place, Massabarkem (Mun- 
sell's Hist. King's Co., p. 18). This name is 
probably badly corrupted; its etymology has not 
been ascertained. 

166. Massakack: hill in Huntington town. 
On March 18, 1702, Isaac Deriemer and others 
petition the Governor for a license to purchase 
"a tract of land called by the Indians Massa- 
back, in English half hill, in the County of 
Suffolk, about three miles long and two in breadth, 
close by the tow^n of Huntington." On Dec. 11, 
1702, the same parties petition again for the same 
tract "called by the Indians Massakack" (Coll. of 



On Lon^ Island m 

Land Papers, Office of the Sec'y of State, pp. 58, 
64). This is probably the locaHty now known 
as the "Half Hollow Hills." It signifies "the 
great hill land," from massa, "great," "big," 
"large," etc.; adchu, "hill"; auke, "land." 
Thus, Mass-adch-auke, corrupted to Massaback 
or Massakack. This is the same as Mass-adchu- 
setts without the locative terminative -sett, = es-set. 
See the discussion of Massachusetts in the Journal 
of American Folk-Lore, vol. xvii., 1904, p. 175. 

167. Massapeague, Marsapeague: the home 
of the tribe of Indians known as the Massapeags, 
located on Fort Neck now belonging to the Floyd- 
Jones estate, in the town of South Oyster Bay. 
At the period of settlement, two Indian forts were 
found there. The remains of one were or are 
still visible. The other, on the southernmost 
point of the salt meadow, consisted of palisados 
set in the meadow. The tide and storms many 
years since wore away the land where it stood, 
and the place is now covered by water. It was 
no doubt the situation of these forts that gave 
the name to the place, being on the "great water 
land," or being "land on the great cove." Its 
earliest mention is found in the Dutch records 
(see Marossepinck) . Variations are: Masepeage, 
1643; Marsey, 1653; Massapeage, 1657; Marsa- 
peake, 1658; Messepeake, 1658; Mashpeag, 1675; 
Masha-Peage, 1675, etc. The same name is found 



112 Indian Place-Names 

in Connecticut, Massapeag (Mohegan), tract of 
land sold by Uncas to Richard Haughton, 1658. 
Its eastern bound was a long cove. The name 
Massa-pe-auke means "great water land," or 
"land on the great cove "(Trumbull). Mashpee, 
in Barnstable County, Mass., seems to be the 
same word. See Massapequa. 

168. Massapequa: a pond and brook in 
South Oyster Bay town. The R. R. station of 
the Montauk Division of the L. I. R. R., formerly 
known as South Oyster Bay, was changed during 
the summer of 1890 to Massapequa. It is a 
variation of Massapeague. See Massapeague. 

169. Massepe: a river or creek in the southern 
part of the town of Jamaica, perhaps the one now 
called Thurston's Creek. It is mentioned in 
connection with the laying out of the squadrons 
of men for mowing the Jamaica meadows, July 
1657: "The 2d squadron (6 men named) are to 
mowe eastward ffrom ye afforesayd to ye great 
river called Massepe'' {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., 
p. 505). Here we have a Mississippi River on 
Long Island, so-called because it was greater 
than others in the vicinity. The name is com- 
pounded from massa, "great"; "big," etc.; sepe 
= Chippewa sibi ; Massachusetts, sepu ; Narra- 
gansett, seip; Shawnee, sepe; Unkechaug, sipus; 



On Long Island 113 

Mohegan, seepo, "a river " ; strictly " a long river. " 
Thus Mass-sepe means "a great (long) river." 

1 70. Massapootupaug : a locality in the west- 
ern part of Southampton town. Mentioned but 
once in the town records, January 15, 1662: 
"part of the Shinnecock Indians give to Capt. 
Topping land from Niamack over to the old gutt, 
and their bounds goe to Masspootupaug which is 
the west end on the south side" (S. H. R., vol. ii., 
p. 27) . The name is derived from massa, ' ' great' ' ; 
pootuppog, "a bay or cove that has a narrow 
inlet from a river or sea." Eliot uses pwtuppog 
and ptstupag for bay in Joshua xv., 2, 5. The 
modem Abnaki is podebag. "The literal mean- 
ing is 'a bulging out,' or 'jutting' {podode) of 
the water inland" (Trumbull). The Unkechaug 
peta'pagh, "bay," was recorded by Jefferson. 
As the Shinnecock bounds in 1665 went to Apocuck 
Creek, now known as the Beaver-dam River, this 
was probably the "East Bay," south of West 
Hampton. It narrows to a width of only a 
quarter of a mile at Mastic Neck, and besides an 
inlet from the ocean formerly existed on the south 
beach of that bay. In the Brooklyn Eagle 
Almanac for 1888, I gave the meaning as 
"great boggy meadow," from pootapaug, "boggy 
meadow," related to Chippewa petobeg, "a 
bog," and Abnaki poteba^, "to sink in the mire" 
(Trumbull). It is spelled and pronounced similar 



114 Indian Place-Names 

to the preceding ; but I regard the former as being 
more correct. 

171. Mastic: a broad neck of land in Brook- 
haven township. This neck is also divided into 
many smaller necks, most of which bear abori- 
ginal names. As a name, it belonged originally 
to the large estuary or cove on the east side of 
the neck, now called ''Forge River," as proven 
by the following extract from the Indian deed of 
1674: "land that lyeth betweene a River called 
Conitticut, to another River called Mastick" 
(B. R., vol. i., p. 32). It occurs as Mastuck in a 
deed of 1692; Mastic, 1693. The same name 
occurs in Connecticut as "Mystic River, " between 
Stonington and Groton. The "great river" of 
Boston Bay, which separates Charlestown from 
Maiden and Chelsea, its estuary receiving Charles 
River, bears the same name. The word signifies 
the " great river. ' ' Massa (or missi) ' ' great ' ' ; -tuck 
or -tick, "a tidal river." Mastic was the great 
tidal river or cove, as compared with others in 
the same locality. See "Forge River" on maps 
of Long Island. 

172. Matanucke: a name of Staten Island, 
Richmond Co., N. Y. (French's Gazetteer of 
N. Y., i860). "Among the 'Patroons', as they 
were styled, was Michael Pauw, who purchased 
Matanucke, now called Staten Island, from the 



On Long Island 115 

Indians by deed, dated Aug. 19, 1660" {Coll. 
N. J. Hist. Soc, vol. i., p. 18). This name is of 
similar import to Matinnecock and other names 
denoting "a place of observation," "a look 
out," etc. This appellation was generally given 
to high land, islands, etc. The island seems to 
have been earlier and more generally known as 
A quehonga Manacknong. See A guehonga Manack- 
nong and Matinnecock. 

173. Matinnecock: a point of land, island, 
and village in the town of Oyster Bay, Queen's 
Co. It is difficult to locate the exact spot to 
which this name was originally applied. The 
Matinnecock tribe roamed about and that fact 
gave the name to a number of places, perhaps far 
removed from their ancient home. Thompson 
says: "East Island is called Matinnecock Island, 
the extreme point of which, though improperly, 
is yet called Matinicock Point" (Thompson's L. I., 
vol. i., p. 495). The earliest record that we 
have been able to find is April 15, 1644, when: 
"Ganwarowe Sachem of Matinnekonck, acting for 
the adjoining villages, viz. : Matinnekonck, Maros- 
pinc, and Siketenhacky , requested to have peace 
and to plant in the above villages which was 
granted him" {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 56). 
In 1645, the Matinnecocks were residing on the 
Nissequogue River. Van Tienhoven wrote in 
1 650 : ' ' Martin Garretsen's Bay or Martinnehouch 



Ii6 Indian Place-Names 

is much deeper and wider than Oyster Bay, and 
runs westward in, divides into three rivers, two 
of which are navigable, the smallest stream runs 
up in front of the Indian 'village called Mar- 
tinnehouch where they have their plantation. 
This tribe is not strong, and consists of about 30 
families. In and about this bay there were for- 
merly great numbers of Indian plantations, which 
now lie waste and vacant" {Col. Hist.N. F., vol. 
xiv., p. 314). Hon. C. R. Street (in Munsell's 
Hist. S. C.) locates this on Huntington Bay. 
But in 1655 we find: " Mattimiekojick Bay also 
called Martin Garrettsen's Bay . . . west of 
Oyster Bay" (Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 314). 
We meet with the following variations besides the 
above: Matinnecoke, 1653; Montinnecok, 1656; 
Matinnecogh, 1656; Matinnecoke, 1663; Metinicok, 
1672. This name is descriptive of "high land," 
probably given to one of the many high hills 
that dot that section — perhaps the high "Harbor 
Hill," in North Hempstead. M' atinne-auke-ut 
signifies "at the place to search, or to look around 
from," "at the place of observation," "at the 
hilly land." A Matinnekonck (on some maps 
Tinnekonck) Island, now Burlington Island, is in 
New Jersey. Matinnack Islands in Maine are 
mentioned by Capt. John Smith {Gen. Hist. N. E., 
1624) and have no doubt the same meaning. The 
components of the word are nCatinne, correspond- 
ing to Massachusetts natin?ieham, "he searches"; 



On Long Island 117 

Delaware (Lenape) latonniken, "to search, to ex- 
amine"; auke, "land," "place"; -ut, "at or near." 

174. Matowcas: name of the territory on 
which stands the city of Brooklyn, "This town 
formerly composed part of a powerful Indian 
Sachemdom ; and with other parts of the Island 
bore the Indian name of Matowcas'' (Furman's 
Antiq. of L. I.). A variation of Matowcas is 
Mattanwake or Meitowax. See Meitowax. 

175. Matsepe: village of the Massapeags, 
Fort Neck, South Oyster Bay. This is the Dutch 
notation for Massapeague, named in Journal of 
New Netherland, 1647: "a troup of one hundred 
and twenty men . . . marched towards Heem- 
sted (where there is an English Colonic depen- 
dant on us) . . . our force was divided into two 
divisions — Van der Hil with fourteen English 
towards the smallest, and Eighty men towards the 
largest village named Matsepe, both of which were 
successful, killing about one hundred and twenty 
men; of ours one man remained on the field and 
three were wounded" {Doc. Hist. N. Y., vol. 
iv., p. 16). The above event is given in all the 
Island histories as taking place in 1653, but as 
this was written in 1647, it must have been much 
earlier." See Massapeague. 

176. Mattanwake: a name of Long Island. 
Hubbard, in his History of New England, says: 



ii8 Indian Place-Names 

"That at the time of the grant to the Earl of 
Sterhng, in 1635, it was called by the Indians 
Mattanwake." But in a copy of the grant at 
hand, we find it quoted: "All that Island or 
Islands heretofore comonly called by the several 
name or names of Matowa or Long Island" 
{Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 30, Note). See 
Meitowax. 

177. Mattawommax: a locality in Brook- 
haven town, mentioned in a deed from John 
Thompson to John Pallmer, dated March 2, 
1685, for his "share of meado at Mattawommax,'' 
recorded in Sessions No. i, Suffolk County, 
Clerk's Office, Riverhead, L. I. (Copy by O. B. 
Ackerly, Esq.). This name belongs to Trum- 
bull's Class 3, and signifies "where the going is 
bad," referring no doubt to the meadow. The 
components of the word are matta, "bad"; 
worn, "he goes or proceeds from" (om in Eliot); 
auke, "land," "place." See Mattemoy. 

178. Mattemoy: one of the smaller necks 
of Mastic, Brookhaven town. According to 
several of the Long Island histories. It is evi- 
dently traditional, for it does not appear in any 
of the records. De Kay and Thompson give it as 
Mottemog. In 1646 Pawquash an Indian was sen- 
tenced to be whipped because "he did blas- 
phemously say that Jesus Christ was mattamoy 



On Lon^ Island 119 

and naught" (iV. H. Col. Rec, vol. i., p. 262). 
Eliot uses mattamog (Prov. xxvii., 2) plural for 
"fool." Therefore this may have been the per- 
sonal name of an Indian living there, who they 
called Mattemoy, "a fool," or it may be derived 
from Mattamaug, "bad or poor fishing-place." 
The following is of interest here: 

" Mottemog: This is the Indian name of a 'Neck' 
on the south side of Long Island, 64 miles from 
the City of New York, A Neck, in the Long 
Island vernacular, means a parcel of land fronting 
salt water between two creeks. Mottemog has 
Sheep Pen Creek on its east side and John Neck 
Creek on its west side at a point on the Great 
South Bay where the Bay is only a mile wide, so 
this Neck is only about a mile and a quarter from 
the broad Atlantic. The undersigned offers for 
sale 250 acres of Mottemog (there are only 400 
acres in the whole Neck), a tract, 1,700 feet wide 
on the Bay (with riparian rights), a parallelogram 
in shape, over a mile long, and about equally 
divided between meadow, arable land (very 
fertile), and big oak timber. It can be trans- 
formed by a skilful landscape architect into a 
beautiful home at slight cost, unless the owner 
desires expensive buildings. Not many neighbors, 
but all desirable, being descendants of original 
owners from Colonial times, occupying large es- 
tates. The land can be had for half value. O. B. 
Ackerly, 146 E. 34th Street, New York City." 



120 Indian Place-Names 

179. Matthabanks: Great South Beach op- 
posite the town of Brookhaven, In a memoran- 
dum on file (endorsed "a record for ye beach," 
March 15, 1668-9): " Owenamchock, the Eastward 
bounds of Tobacus Land sold to Setauk, Mattha- 
banks the name of ye Beach, the wester Bounds is 
Nanmicake (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 23). This name is 
probably analogous to the Massachusetts (Eliot) 
Wussabanunk, "a bank of a river," etc.; Micmac 
kaskibiindk, "the bank of a river. " The Massa- 
chusetts Wussabanunk or Wussapinunk is com- 
posed of wus, "brim," "edge"; appin (from 
appii) "he sits"; -unk, "place" (Trumbull). 

180. Mattituck: a village, bay, and creek 
in the western part of Southold town. The name 
was given originally to a tract of land, partly in 
Southold and including part of the present town 
of Riverhead, which was set off as a separate 
township in 1792. It is first mentioned in the 
Indian deed of 1648: "All that tract of land 
lying between Conchake and Ucquebaak commonly 
called Mattatuck" (B. H. R., vol. vi., p. 76). Again 
in 1661 : "lands att Oyster ponds, Curchaug, Occa- 
bauck, and Mattatuck should be surveyed" (S. R., 
vol. i., p. 350) ; in 1665 " Corchaug and Mattaducke 
and all other tracts of land ... by what name 
soever called" (Indian Deed, S. R., vol. i., p. 250) ; 
in 1667: "Lands and meadows . . . commonly 
known by the name of . . . Mattatuck'' (S. R., 



On Long Island I2I 

vol. i., p. 230). Variations are Mattatuck, 1648; 
Matatucke, 1653; Mattaducke, 1665; Mattatuk, 
1685; Mattetuck, 1843, etc. It appears as the 
Indian name of three different locaHties in Con- 
necticut. According to Trumbull "The name 
(Matah'tugk) designates a 'place without wood,' 
or 'badly wooded,' 'destitute of trees.' " Wm. S. 
Pelletreau, in his Geographical Names, says, 
after giving the above meaning: "A far more 
probable derivation is 'matta' (a form of 'massa') 
and 'tuck,' a creek, and the meaning ' great creek,' 
a meaning which is amply sustained by the geo- 
graphical features of the place." Trumbull is 
the author of both derivations but inclines more 
to the first, as does the present writer. In 1654 
(only fourteen years after the settlement) there 
was such a scarcity of timber in the town of South- 
old that they had to enact a law prohibiting the 
cutting of timber, "from the utmost part of the 
town westward towards Mattetuck to the furthest 
poynt of that neck of land . . . Plumb gutt." 
In 1660 they passed another law to the same 
effect (S. R., vol. i., pp. 319-335). Mattituck 
would therefore seem to be derived from matta, 
"no"; -tuck, -tugk, "tree." 

181. Mattock: a swamp in Southampton 
town near "North Sea." First mentioned in an 
entry of 1743, viz. : "lot of land lying in the North 
sea line joyning to Mattock swamp." Again in 



122 Indian Place-Names 

1763: " a difference arose between Samuel Jagger 
and Thomas Jennings about some meadow at a 
place called Matuck swamp." (S. H. R., vol. iii., 
pp. 40, 240). This name might be translated 
''bad land," from Matt-aiike {matt, "bad"; 
auke, land"), and this would describe the swamp, 
but I am inclined to think the swamp takes its 
name from an Indian who formerly lived there; 
besides, the land adjoining bears evidences of 
such habitations. 

182. Mattuck: a brook at East Moriches, 
Brookhaven town. "This neck ^Watchogue' con- 
tains the eastern section of the village of East 
Moriches, and is bounded on the east by a small 
brook called Mattuck'' (Munsell's Hist. Brook- 
haven). Mattuck is derived from matt, "bad"; 
-tuck, "a creek." It may be, however, an 
abbreviated form from a longer term. 

183. Meacox: a farming district, and inland 
bay at Bridge Hampton, Southampton town. In 
the early records of the township, Meacox is 
always referred to as a tract of land, and in the 
division of the land among the settlers — as a plain, 
the bay being called " Mecox Water," for the 
reason that it borders the plain on the south. We 
find the locality mentioned as early as 1644, viz.: 
" Yt is further ordered that . . . two persons, one 
of which shall goe to viewe and espie yf there be 



On Long Island 123 

any whales cast up as far as the South Harbor, 
and the other shall goe unto the third pond beyond 
Meecocks, beginning at the windmill" (S. H. R., 
vol. i., p. 32). Variations are: Meacoxe, 1646; 
Mecocks, 1654; Mecoks, 1654; Meacocks, 1657; 
Meecooks, 1659; Meacox, 1677, etc. This local 
name, by all the historians of Long Island, has 
been taken to be of Indian origin. I have had 
the same supposition and, in the Brooklyn Eagle 
Almanac for 1888, 1889, 1890, gave its significa- 
tion as " a plain bare of timber,' ' regarding the word 
as a variation of the Delaware (Zeisberger) 
megucke; Massachusetts (Eliot), mukoshqut, "a 
plain." This derivation I now believe to be an 
error. Halkett Lord, Esq., suggests that it is 
from "Meacock'' an obsolete English term re- 
corded in Cot grave (161 1), Phillips (1706), Bailey 
(1737), etc., with the sense of "ninny," "coward," 
' ' effeminate fellow ' ' ; French, ' ' bedier. ' ' Still for 
all the foregoing, I believe it to be of Indian 
origin, and a survival of the name of one of the 
signers of the Southampton Indian deed of Dec. 
13, 1640, where it appears as Secommecock = 
Secom-mecock = Mecock. With the mark of the 
English possessive, as it often occurs, we have 
Mecock's, which is a very probable derivation. 

184. Mechawanienck : a locality in King's 
Co. Mentioned in the Indian deed of New 
Utrecht, Nov. 22, 1652, viz.: "the said land 



124 Indian Place-Names 

stretching from behind Mr. Paulus' land, called 
Gouwanis, across the hills to Mechawanienck lying 
on the south east side Amersfoort (Flatlands) and 
thence past Gravesend to the sea following the 
marks on the trees" {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., 
p. 190). This is the only mention of this locality 
that I have been able to find from an early record. 
This name probably indicated an "old Indian 
trail or path," from mechowi, "old," "ancient, 
old in use"; anink (cf. Delaware aney, "road," 
"walking road," "path"); thus the "old path 
or trail." 

185. Meitowax: one of the names of Long 
Island. Variously given as Matouwac, Matou- 
acks, Meilowacks, Metoac, Meitowacks, Matowcas, 
Mattanwake, and Matowa. It appears by these 
names on all the Dutch maps from Lucini about 
1 63 1, to Evans in 1775. In the patent of Long 
Island, etc., by Charles II. to his brother, the Duke 
of York, 1664, Meitowax is given as being its 
Indian name. Benson, in his Memorial read 
before the N. Y. Historical Society in 1846, 
derives Mattoway or Meitowax from the Montauks, 
and says: "All of which, however, differently 
spelled or pronounced by the whites, doubtless 
purport the same." The late Henry R. School- 
craft, in a paper read before the same Society 
in 1845, derived the name from the same tribe. 
Both are in error, as the name was not so derived. 



On Long Island 125 

It is by synthetical resolution, Meht-anaw-ack, 
"the land of the periwinkle," or ''country of the 
ear-shell," — Massachusetts, meht, "an ear"; 
anaw, "a shell"; -ack, "land," or "country." 
See Algonquian Series, vol. ii., pp. 9-18, for a 
further discussion of this Indian name for Long 
Island. 

186. Memanusack, Memanusuck: the stream 
of water from which the present village of Stony 
Brook, Brookhaven town, takes its name. It is 
first found on record in the Indian deed for Smith- 
town, Sept. 29, 1650, viz.: "Certain quantity 
of land — at a river knowne by the name of Nesa- 
quake River, and from that eastward to a River 
called Memanusack lying on the north side of the 
Island" (Munsell's Hist. S. C). Also occurs as 
Memanusuck. No doubt the same as Mahman- 
suckf or Maumansuck in Connecticut, denoting a 
"place where two streams meet," or perhaps "a 
brook connecting two ponds. " This prefix means 
"to bring together" (TrirnibuU's Indian Names 
in Connecticut). This brook is an outlet of a 
pond into the harbor. The name would thus 
be derived from memanu, cognate with Delaware 
mawenemen, "to bring together," "to gather"; 
Massachusetts, mianaii, "he assembles," "gathers 
together"; -suck, "brook," "outlet." 

187. Merosuck: Canoe Place, Southampton 



126 Indian Place-Names 

town. "The isthmus between Shinnecock and 
Peconic Bays was called by the Indians Merosuc 
or Canoe-place, the spot across which they hauled 
their canoes from one bay to the other" (Thomp- 
son's L. I., vol. i., p. 360). Also Merosuck (Fur- 
man's A ntiq. L. I.). This name is not found in the 
town records. The late G. R. Howell doubted 
the name and its application. Its etymology 
has not been ascertained. 

188. Merrick: a name now given to a small 
settlement, five miles southeast of the village of 
Hempstead, L. I. It is first found on record in the 
Indian deed for Hempstead, Nov. 13, 1643, viz. : 
"That we of Masepeage, Merriack or Rockaway 
wee hoes names are hereunto written have sett 
ouer hand and sold unto Robert Fordham and 
John Carman on Long Island Inglishmen the half 
moiety or equal part of the great plain lying to- 
wards the southside" {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., 
P- 530)- Variants are: Merioke, 1647; Meracock, 
1656; Moroke, Mericoke, Mericock land, 1675; 
Merricock, "planting land voluntarily left, " 1675; 
Marrocock, 1684. In 1675, Tackapousha, Sachem 
of Mashpeag, "declares yt Mercock Land which 
Hempstead enjoy was never paid for" (Col. Hist. 
N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 696). This name seems to 
have been originally applied to the Hempstead 
plains, which it describes. Merricock represents 
Massachusetts Mehchi-auke, "bare land"; or 



On Lon^ Island 127 

Mehchi-auke-ut, "at the barren land," "bare of 
trees," "a plain." The components of the name 
would then be merri (Massachusetts mehchi, 
mehcheyeu) " it is barren ' ' ; auke, * ' land " ; -z^/, " at . " 

189. Mespaetches: a name originally given 
to a swamp and creek in the western part of 
Queen's Co, The stream is now known as 
Newtown Creek. This name is first mentioned 
in the Indian deed of Aug. i, 1638, when the 
Council of New Netherland secured for the West 
India Co.: "a certain tract of land lying on 
Long Island, reaching in length from the plan- 
tation of George Rapaljee (called Rinnegak- 
onck) a good league and a half to the Mes- 
paechtes and in width from the East River about 
one league to the copses of the same Mespaechtes" 
{Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 54). Munsell 
(Hist, of King's Co.) has, "about one league to the 
swamp of Mespaechtes." Thompson (L. /., vol. 
ii., p. 137) says: "The name {Maspeth) originally 
belonged to the western part of the town (New- 
town) the latter being probably the appellation 
applied to a tribe of Indians residing about the 
head of the creek." Variations are Mespatchis 
Kil, 1642; Mespachtes Kil, 1646; Mespacht, 1654; 
Mespaat, 1656; Mespath, 1661. English forms 
Maspeth and Mashpath occur in 1703. The name 
may have been applied to the resident at the 
swamp and his family, but the word bears great 



128 Indian Place-Names 

resemblance to Mecht-pe-es-it, "at the bad water 
place," which would apply to the locality, a low 
swampy region, now being gradually covered 
by the march of improvements. It may be the 
parallel of the Micmac (Rand) mespaak, "over- 
flowed" (by the tide). The locality even now is 
occasionally overflowed by the water backing up 
on very high tides. See Algottquian Series, vol. 
ii., pp. 39-41- 

190. Messemennuck, Messememuck: a creek 
at the head of Peconic Bay. Mentioned in the 
testimony of Paucamp in 1660, "an Indian then 
80 years of age, descended from the House of 
the Sachems in the end of the Island," who 
testified: "that the first in his time [the Acaboug 
Indians] did possesse the upland and meadows in 
the swamp side of the river being in the west end 
of the Bay five creeks, the first Messemennuck, 
the second Nobbs, the third Suggamuck, the 
fourth Weekewackmamish, the fifth Toyoungs," 
(Book of Deeds, vol. ii., p. 213, Office of the Sec 'y 
of State, Albany, N. Y.). In some copies the 
name appears as Messememuck. There is some 
difficulty about locating this creek, owing to the 
encroachment of water on the land, for there is a 
tradition extant, that the present Flanders Bay 
was originally landlocked and has been opened 
during the past two hundred years. If this is not 
a fact, then we must give the name to LoPontz 



On Lon^ Island 129 

or Havens' Creek, which empties into Flanders 
Bay thence into Peconic River at Broad Meadows 
Point. If tradition is correct, we must give 
the name to the Peconic River. This seems to 
be corroborated by early records. The name is 
to be interpreted as Messem-amuck, ''an ale wife 
fishing-place," from me^^em = Massachusetts 
(Cotton), ommis-suog; Narragansett, aumswog 
(Williams) ; Pequot, umsuauges (Stiles) ; Abnaki, 
aumsoo-ak, "alewives" {Alosa vernalis, Mitch.); 
-amuck, "a fishing-place." We find in the 
deposition of Rev. Thos. James, 1667, that 
Paquatoun, the Montauk Counselor, told him: 
"that the bounds of the Shinacut Indians: since 
the conquest of those Indians; which formerly 
many years since lived at Ackobauk: did reach to a 
river where they use to catch ye fish we commonly 
called Alewives: the name of that River: he said 
is Pehick-konuk . . . two other old women in- 
formed him: that they gathered flags for matts 
within that tract of land : But since those Indians 
were conquered that lived att Ackobauk the Shino- 
cut bounds went to the river Pehik konuk where 
the Indians catched Alewives" (E. H. R., vol. i., 
pp. 260, 261; Munsell's fZ"^"^^. S. C, E. H. town). 
Wood thus describes the fish in question: "Ale- 
wives be a kind of fifh which is much like a herring, 
which in the latter part of Aprill come up to the 
frefh Rivers to spawne, in such multitudes as is 
almoft incredible, preliing up in fuch fhallow 



130 Indian Place-Names 

water as will fcarce permit them to swimm.e, having 
likewife fuch longing defire after the frefh water 
ponds, that no beatings with poles, or forcive 
agitations by other divices, will caufe them to 
returne to the fea, till they have caft their fpawne 
(N. E. Prospect, 1634, P- 3^)- See Suggamuck. 

191. Messtopass: a dirty hole of water near 
Mannatto Hill, in the town of Oyster Bay. A 
boundary mark in the Indian deed of Nov. 18, 
1695, viz.: "from thence to ye sd Hole of dirt 
and water near Mannatto Hill called by the Indians 
Messtoppas'' (Thompson, vol. i., p. 507). In De 
Kay, Messtopass. The Delaware machtit, ' ' filthy, ' ' 
"dirty"; mecht, "bad"; Massachusetts, nuppisse, 
"a small pool of water"; indicate the etymology 
of the name, Macht'uppisse, "a filthy pool of 
water. " 

1 92 . MiAMEGG : a creek near the present village 
of Jamesport, Riverhead town. The name is 
found on record in the Indian deed of March 14, 
1648, viz.: "Provided the aforesaid Indians 
(Occomboomaguns and the wife of Mahahannuck) 
may enjoy during their lives, a small peice of land, 
to Plant upon, lying between the two creeks 
Miamegg and Assasqiiage'' (Book of Deeds, vol. 
ii., p. 210, Office of the Sec'y of State, Albany, 
N. Y.). Variants are Miamogue (Munsell's Hist. 
S. C); Miomog (Thompson, 1845); Wyamaug, 



On Long Island 131 

etc. This name was originally applied to the 
creek, and not to the point, as stated in some 
of the Island histories. It is probably from the 
equivalent of the Narragansett midwene, "a 
gathering together," "a meeting"; Massachu- 
setts (Eliot) miyaneog, "they gather together"; 
miy-amaug, thus means "a meeting fishing- 
place" from miy, "together"; -amaug, "fishing- 
place." That is, a locality where the Indians 
came together to fish, probably for alewives, or 
menhaden to be used for fertilizing their corn- 
fields. 

193. MiAMOGUE: "The village of Jamesport, 
Riverhead town, is very pleasantly situated on a 
point projecting into Peconic Bay and bearing the 
Indian name Miamogue" (Munsell's ilw^. S. C). 
See Miamegg. 

194. Minasseroke: Little Neck, now called 
"Strong's Neck, at Setauket." Little Neck, 
called by the Indians Minasseroke, lies between 
Old-field or Conscience Bay and Setauket Harbor. 
It is believed to have been thickly populated, and 
a favorite residence of the Sachem. A part of 
it is still designated as the "Indian Ground," 
which was originally conveyed by the natives to 
Andrew Gibb, in 1685" (Thompson's L. /., 
vol. i., p. 431). De Kay gives Minesuc and Min- 
asouke. In the Brooklyri Eagle Almanac, i\ 



132 Indian Place-Names 

1889, 1890, I derived this name from the huckle- 
berry or some other small berry formerly gathered 
there (Chippewa, minais, "little berry"; Delaware, 
minall, "huckleberry"). This may be wrong and 
the true meaning may be found in the above 
quotation, viz.: "Indian Ground," being an old 
Indian corn-field, maize land, and the word turn 
out to be an abbreviation of Eachimineas-auke, 
"corn land." 



195. MiNAUSSUMS: a neck of land in the town 
of Brookhaven, so named in an Indian deed of 
April I, 1690. An error for Winnecroscoms 
(q.v.). 

196. MiNNAHANONCK: Blackwell's Island in 
the East River. In 1637: "Two chiefs of the 
Marychtenwikingh (in Brooklyn) surrender and 
convey to Wouter Van T wilier, Director General 
of New Netherland, two islands, situate in the 
Helle gat, of which the larger is called Tenkenas 
and the smaller Minnahanonck, lying to the west 
of the larger" (Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 5). 
Also occurs as Minnehanock (French's Gazetteer, 
p. 419, Note). The same name is found in 
Connecticut as Manhannock, "Wright Island" 
opposite Wethersfield. According to Trumbull, 
"The name { — munnohan-aiike) means 'island 
place' or 'land on the island,' " The components 



On Long Island 133 

of the word would then be minnahan, "island"; 
-onck, -ock (-auke), "land," "place." 

197. MiNNAPAUGS: a small pond at Southold, 
L. I. "Little pond by the sound at Hortons Point, 
sits like a May Queen, embowered in trees and 
flowers, forever looking out upon the blue waters 
of the sound" (Note by J. Wickham Case, 
S. R., vol. ii., p. 530) ; Certificate of Wm. Salmon, 
1645: " Monjiepaught at the fresh pann" (S. R., 
vol. ii,, p. 276). A deed of 1649: "Wm. Salmon 
sells three parts of his upland lying betwixt Tom's 
creeke and Mr. Goodyears land reaching to a 
fresh pond lying on the North sea with an Island 
of trees standing in it" (S. R., vol. i., p. 176). 
Bounds of Hashamomiik, 1660: "that land ad- 
joining Tom's creek . . . and so along to the 
North east to a place called Minnapaugs, being a 
little pond and a parcell of trees standing by it" 
(vol. i., p. 208). These extracts describe the pond 
and also give its signification: Min7ia-pe-auke, 
"little island pond," minna being the diminutive 
of manhan, denoting "little island"; pe-auke, 
"water place," or paug (inseparable generic), "a 
pond." 

198. Minnesunk: a word compounded in 
1866 by Mr. George R. Howell, Assistant State 
Librarian at Albany, and bestowed on a pond in 
Southampton town at North Sea. This name 



134 Indian Place-Names 

was probably made up from the Siouan minne, 
signifying "water," and the Algonkian sunk or 
saunks, the "Queen" or "Sachem's wife"; the 
name being intended to mean the "Queen of the 
water." The first component was evidently 
taken from Minnehaha (cf. Minnesota, etc.) in 
which word minne = mini, "water," in the Teton, 
a Siouan dialect. The name is thus hybrid 
Siouan-Algonkian. Delaware mhi, "water," how- 
ever, appears in some old vocabularies as minne. 
(A. F. c.) 

199. MiNNEWiTS: an island at the western 
end of Long Island Sound, probably either 
"Hart's," or "City Island." Mentioned in a 
journal of a voyage in 1663, viz.: "When the ebb 
was passed we weighed anchor, passed Hellgate 
at low water, and arrived by laveering and rowing 
near Minnewits Island, where we stopt. " Also 
Minnewits, 1673 {Col. Hist. N. F., vol. ii., pp. 
385, 655). Although resembling, this is not an 
Indian name, but a form of Minuit, Peter Minuit, 
a former owner of the island and Director of 
New Netherland; his name is sometimes given 
in the early records as Minnewits {Col. Hist. 
N. F., vol. i., p. 291). 

200. MiNNiSAis: Bedlow's Island, New York 
Harbor, now the site of the Statue of Liberty. 
It is a Chippewa name bestowed by Henry R. 



On Long Island 135 

Schoolcraft in 1843, — Minnisais, "the lesser is- 
land" (Go wans 's Bibliotheca Americana; Trans- 
actions, N. Y. Hist. Soc, 1844), 

201. MiRRACHTAUHACKY: Dutch notation for 
Montauk. This form of spelling is found on 
record in the treaty of May 29, 1645; when 
Wittaneymen Sachem appeared before the Council 
of New Netherland, declaring to be impowered 
by his brethren, naming among other Weyrin- 
teynich [Wiandance], Sachem of Mirrachtauhacky 
{Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 60). De Kay cites: 
'' Merautahacky an unknown locality on Long 
Island" {Indian Names of L. I.). See Montauk. 

202. MiSPATUCK, Mispotuck: a neck of land in 
Islip town. In the deed by the Van Cortlandts 
to John Mowbray, March 2, 1705, for the neck 
called Compawis . . . bounded west by neck 
called Misputuck . . . Mispotuck neck bounded 
west by Apple tree neck" (Letter from O. B. 
Ackerly, Esq.). A deed of 1703, calls this neck 
Missatuck. Again Thompson (L. J., vol. i., p. 
447) has, "Thence to Mispatuc (or Udall's Brook) 
on the west." Later still the name appears as 
Masquetux. In my Algonquian Series (vol. ii., 
pp. 41-42) I suggested the same derivation for 
Mispatuc, as Maspeth, "an overflowing tidal 
stream, or a bad water place." I see no reason 
for changing the etymology. See Mespaetches. 



136 Indian Place-Names 

203. MissATUCK: a neck of land and brook in 
the western part of Islip town. The brook is now 
designated as Udall's Brook. The Indian deed 
of June I, 1703, to the Van Cortlandts for the 
neck called Compowams , has the "neck called 
Missatuck on the west" (Thompson's L. /., 
vol. i., p. 447). The various names for this neck 
are so similar it is hard to tell which should be 
the true form. This form might mean "a great 
creek or river," from massa, or missa, "great"; 
-tuck, "creek or tidal river"; or it may have 
designated some large tree which served as a 
bound-mark. Massa, "great"; -tugk or -tuck, 

'a tree." See Mispatuck and Masquetux. 

204. MissiPAUG: name suggested by Mr. 
George R. Howell for the "Big Fresh Pond" west 
of the road from Southampton to North Sea. The 
Indian equivalent of "big fresh pond," literally 
"great water place" (Howell's Hist. Southamp- 
ton, 26. ed., 1887, p. 141). The components of 
the word are missi, "great;" -paug, "water- 
place," "pond." 

205. MocHGONNEKONCK : the Dutch notation 
for Shinnecock, So named in the following 
treaty: "Before us the Director and Council of 
New Netherland appeared Wittaneymen, Sachem 
of Mochgonnekonck, declaring to be empowered 
by his brethren, named as follows, to wit Rochkouw, 



On Long Island ^137 

the greatest Sachem of Cotsjewaminck, Mama- 
wichtouw, Sachem of Catsjeyick, Weyrinteynich, 
Sachem of Mirrachtaiihacky , and said, as well in his 
own name as in that of his brethren aforesaid, that 
they had taken under their protection the villages 
named, Ouheyinchkingh, Sichteyhacky, Sicketauy- 
hacky, Nesinckqueghacky, at which place the 
Matinnekonck now reside, and Rickouhacky, and 
requested to walk in a firm bond of friendship 
with us and promised that the Christians should 
experience at the hands of his people, or of those 
above named villages, nothing but every kindness, 
and as a proof of their good disposition, they 
offered to go against our enemies, which he has 
done, and brought a head and hands of the enemy, 
and has agreed with us to aid our people from 
henceforth against the Indians our enemies, which 
we have accepted. In ratification of this treaty, 
we have given a present to the above named chiefs, 
with promise not to molest them so long as he and 
the above named villages remain in their duty, 
but to show them all possible friendship. In 
testimony of the truth the original is signed by us, 
confirmed by our seal and handed to the chief, the 
seal being pendant thereto the 29 of May, 1645, 
in Fort Amsterdam, New Netherland" {Col. 
Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 60. See also Thompson's 
L. I. (vol. i., p. 335). Ruttenber mistakenly sup- 
poses the place to be unlocated and the Sachem 
Wittaneymen to be Takapousha. The brethren 



138 Indian Place-Names 

named show that they all belonged at the east 
end. They were given a certificate of protection 
the previous year (1644) by the English, wherein 
Wittanaymen is spelled Weenakamin, thus proving 
that he was the Sachem of Shinnecock, or Moch- 
gonnekonck of the Dutch. 

206. MoEUNG: end of the beach at Gravesend, 
Queen's Co., N. Y. The Indian deed of Jiily, 
1684, given by Crackewasco, Arrenopeah, Mamekto 
and Annenges for a "parcel of land commonly 
called by the Indians Makeopaco beginning at the 
most eastward end of the beach called by the 
Indians Moeung bounded on the westmost side 
by the land heretofore purchased from Chip- 
pahig" (Munsell's Hist. King's Co.). This name 
probably refers to the meadows at the end of 
the beach: Moe-ung, "black," or "miry place." A 
name with the same prefix occurs in Stonington, 
Conn., as Mooapaske, which Trumbull translates 
a "black, muddy, or miry land, Mme-pesugke.'" 
The components of the word Moeung would thus 
be moe ( = Massachusetts mH, moyeu, "ordure," 
''filth," "black"), "filth," "mire"; -z^wg, locative, 
signifying "place. 

207. Mogkompskut: a large boulder on the 
Hands Creek road. Three Mile Harbor, East 
Hampton town. This name was given to me by 
the late Stephen Pharaoh. It signifies "at the 



On Long Island 139 

great rock." I do not know of a larger one on 
eastern Long Island. The component parts of 
the word are mogk-, "great"; -ompsk, "rock"; 
-tit, ''at." 

208. MoHANNis: a Sagamore of Oyster Bay. 
See Sagamore. 

209. MoMOWETA: a pond at Mattituck, now 
called Lake Momoweta, from the Sachem of Cor- 
chaug. His name occurs with those of his three 
brothers on the East Hampton Indian deed of 
1648. He appeared before the Commissioners of 
the United Colonies of New England in 1644, 
soliciting peace and protection, there his name is 
spelled MoMghmaitow (Plymouth Col, Rec, vol. 
ix., p. 18); Mowmetow (Thompson's L. /., vol. i., 
p. 365). Also Mamawichtouw {Col. Hist. N. Y., 
vol. i., p. 60). The word Momoweta = 77whmo- 
wetuo, "he gathereth or brings together in his 
house." The components are momo ( = Massa- 
chusetts mohmo), "to gather or bring together"; 
-weta ( = Massachusetts wetu) , ' ' house. ' ' 

210. MoNABAUGS: a swamp, pond, and creek 
between Potunk and Ketchaponack Necks in west- 
ern Southampton town, at West Hampton. Re- 
corded in 1683, viz.: "Bounded east by the creek 
comonly called Monobatigs," 1686: "to another 
white oak tree standing by the west side of the 



140 Indian Place-N 



ames 



swamp of Monabaugs, about twenty pole above 
yt. head of the pond called Monabaugs'' (S. H. R., 
vol. ii., pp. 114, 276). From the possessive ter- 
mination, "the swamp of Monabaugs,'' this name 
appears like a personal one although, in this case, 
the Indian may have taken his name from the 
pond. The word is the equivalent of the Massa- 
chusetts (Eliot) monoi, "deep"; -baug, often 
occurring as a variation of -paug, "a water place, " 
"a. pond," thus making the meaning "a deep 
pond." 

211. Moncorum: Coram, Brookhaven town. 
This early form of Coram is found in an order to 
Richard Woodhull, concerning a new way on 
Long Island (this is the present old Middle 
Country road) , dated August 1 677, viz. : "That a 
new way designed and ordered in Gov. NicoU's 
time through the middle of the Island from 
Hinitington Eastward to Southampton and South- 
hold bee nott only remarked, but sufficiently 
cleared of brush where occasion by employing 
Indyans or others: . . . and that hee settle a 
farme — at or about Moncorum" {Col. Hist., 
N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 729). See Coram. 

212. MoNOCKNONG: a name of Staten Island, 
Richmond Co., N. Y. "Staten Island, we are 
informed by De Vries, was occupied by the 
Monatans who called it Monochiong with a verbal 



On Long Island 141 

prefix. The termination is ong, denoting locality; 
manon is the iron- wood tree, ack denotes a tree 
or trunk, and admits a prefix from manadun, 
'bad.' By inquiry it does not appear that the 
iron- wood, although present, ever existed in 
sufficient abundance to render the name from 
that characteristic. The other is too late to 
investigate. It is believed the expression had 
an implied meaning, and denotes the Haunted 
Woods" (Schoolcraft). This theory cannot be 
correct. Mr. Schoolcraft has analyzed the word 
on a wrong basis, and finished by saying it denotes 
the "Haunted Woods." This is not descriptive, 
from an Indian's standpoint, as is proven by other 
names in this work being simply descriptive and 
not romantic. See Aquehonga Manacknong. 

213. MoNTAUK : point of land and peninsula on 
the eastern end of the island in East Hampton 
town, the locality from which the principal island 
tribe derived their name. In the Indian deed to 
Gov. Eaton of New Haven and his associates in 
behalf of the inhabitants of East Hampton town, 
we find it given: "All land lying from bounds of 
Southampton unto the east side of Napeak, next 
unto Meuntacut high land" (E. H. R., vol. i., 
p. 3; S. H. R., vol. i., p. 51). In the published 
records of this town and sister towns on Long 
Island the variations in spelling are almost as 
numerous as the occurrence of the name; among 



142 Indian Place-Names 

them are: Meantaucutt, 1656; Meantaquit, 1660; 
Meantauket, 1666; Meantucket, 1668; Menataukett, 
1672; Meantaukut, 1674; Meuntaukut, 1676; Mean- 
tauk, 1687; Mantack, 1692, etc. The signification 
has been variously given, all without a doubt being 
in error. Jones's Indian Bulletin for i86y derives 
it from the Massachusetts (Eliot) muUaag, "a 
standard, pillar, or ensign. " Dr. J. H. Trumbull, 
the eminent Algonkian student, suggests that the 
word is probably a form of manatuck, a name 
frequently bestowed on high or hilly land through- 
out New England, and denotes "a place of obser- 
vation, " " a place for seeing (or to be seen) far off, " 
and not, as he once believed, from manati, 
"island. " Dr. Trumbull quotes the deed of 1648 
from Thompson's L. I. where it is misspelled as 
Mountacutt. The late David Gardiner, in Chroni- 
cles of East Hampton, 1840, 1871 (also Ayres's 
Legends of Montauk) , gives it as "the hilly land 
or country " from having been called in early 
records the " Meuntacut high land." The writer 
suggested (E. H. R., vol. iv., Introduction) another 
derivation, — one that has both tradition and 
history to support it, beside the parallels from 
neighboring dialects that prove its correctness. 
On the Montauk high lands were located the 
palisadoed inclosures of the tribe — their places 
of refuge in time of danger and peril. The first 
fort of which we have any knowledge is mentioned 
in the Montauk deed of 1662, the bounds of 



On Lon^ Island I43 

which went west to "where the old Indian fort 
stood," at Nominick Hills on the "east side of 
N apeak.'" The new fort, " still standing " in 
1662, was located on what is still called "Fort 
Hill, " at Fort Pond, overlooking the bay. The 
outlines of this fence inclosure (180 feet square) 
can still be traced after a lapse of over two cen- 
turies. Meantaukut or Meuntaukut is therefore the 
parallel of the Massachusetts (Cotton) Menehke- 
tduunat, " iortified" ; Meneutau sue (Eliot) = " forti- 
fied" (as in Isaiah xxvi., 10, pum-meneutausue 
keitotan ="defen.ced city," literally, "the shut 
or closed fortified great town"); Delaware men- 
achk, a "fort"; menachkasu, "fortified." The 
Dutch form, Mirrachtauhacky — Delaware, Me'n- 
achk-hacky, "fort country." The English form, 
Memztaukut = Massachusetts Meneutauqut, "at 
the fort," "fort country," etc. This makes the 
quotation from the deed of 1648 read: "Unto 
the fort-place high land." Wood's N. E. 
Prospect, 1634, p. 2, ch. 13, says: "Thefe 
Forts fome be fortie or fiftie foote fquare, 
erected of young timber trees, ten or twelve 
foote high, rammed into the ground, with un- 
dermining within, the earth being caft up for 
their fhelter againft the dischargements of their 
enemies: having loope holes," etc. See Brook- 
lyn Eagle Almanac, 1896, pp. 54-55. Also Algon- 
quian Series, vol. ii., 15-21, for further account of 
this name. 



144 Indian Place-Names 

214. Moriches: a neck of land in the eastern 
part of Brookhaven town, from which the three 
villages, known as East, Centre, and Moriches 
proper take their name. The earliest record 
referring to this locality is the deed of April 4, 
1683, from John Mayhew, so-called Indian pro- 
prietor of several necks of land "upon ye south - 
side of Long Island, to Doctor Henry Taylor 
and Thomas Willett of Flushing, viz.: a certain 
neck of land at Unquichoge commonly known by 
ye name of the Merquices lying and joining on the 
west side of the neck of land by me given to Thos. 
Townsend of Oyster Bay ... ye said neck of 
land called the Merquices.'' On Sept. 25, 1693, 
we find that Aug. Graham surveyed: "Two 
necks of land called by ye name of Marigies and 
Alamanock" (Law Papers, vol. ii., p. 217, Office 
of Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.). A deed 1691 
to Col. Smith has: "Except the bottom of two 
necks laid out by markt trees being Meritces and 
Mamanok Necks lying together, and not going 
further than the head of the creek which make 
said necks," and Fletcher's Patent to Smith, 
1697: "excepting — so much of the marshe and 
necks of land — of Maritches, and Mamanuck" 
(B. H. R,, vol. i., p. 90). Some variations are: 
Merquices, 1683; Meritces, i6gi; Marigies, 1693; 
Maritches, 1697; Moritches, 1714; Murichis, 1728; 
Meriches, 1740, etc. This neck of land was so- 
called because it was Meritches, — one time its 



On Long Island 145 

Indian owner, or dweller upon it. This name 
appears among the grantors, in the Indian deed 
for beach in 1685 (B. H. R., vol. i., pp. 69, 70), as 
Wene-ment[c]hew, = " old woman Meritchew" or 
"Meritche's old woman" ; Wene = weenai, or weany 
(Montauk) wenise (Narragansett), "an old wo- 
man." The meaning of Meritche has not been 
ascertained. Similar compounding of personal 
names is found in old records. Aguahack whome 
squa = Ucque-baug-homes-squaw, ' ' the head of 
the bay old man's woman" (S. H. R., vol. i., p. 
60); Weany sunk squaw, "old woman queen" 
(S. H. R., vol. i.) 

215. Mosquetah: Glen Cove, Oyster Bay 
town. This name appears modemly as "Mos- 
quito Cove," and has the appearance of being 
derived from that irrepressible insect, but it was 
not. It takes its name from the extensive mead- 
ows bordering the cove or creek. Variations 
are: Mosquetah, 1658; Musceata, 1667; Muskitoe, 
1668; Muchito, 1675. Mosquetah corresponds to 
Narragansett muskkosqut, "meadow"; Mohegan 
muxquataug, "place of rushes." The same name 
appears in Westerly, R. I., as Mukquata, or 
Muxquataug (Trumbull's Indian Names in Con- 
necticut). See Muskyttehool. 

216. MuNCHOG, Munchoage: an island in the 
Great Pond, Montauk. It is mentioned in the 



146 Indian Place-Names 

East Hampton accounts for the year 1690 when 
''Benj. Osborn, Nath. Talmage and John Miller, 
Jr. were paid five shillings each for going to 
Montauk to search Munchog or Munchoage." 
The locality is designated by an entry of Aug. 
30, 1709: "when the Trustees ordered that 
notice be given for the sale of liberty to mow 
what mowable grass may be found within the 
Indian field provided they the buyers cut no 
other than where the rushes grow — and also what 
if any may be found mowable on the Island in 
the Great Pond called Munchoag." Same date: 
"Ichabod Leeke is debtor by liberty of mowing in 
the Indian field and on Manchoage as by bargain " ; 
(E. H. R., vol. ii., p. 248; vol. iii., pp. 216, 219). 
Munchog seems to designate "an island of 
meadow," "island of rushes" (from munni, 
"island"; Narragansett muskechoge, "rushes," 
"place of rushes"). This derivation seems to be 
proven by the above records, and in fact a large 
part of its area is covered by rushes and marsh. 
In Gardiner's Montauk Vocabulary, we find 
Cum cheesk, an error for Mun cheesk, "little is- 
land"; mun or mon, "an island"; chiank, "large." 
From this, Mun-chiank, "large island," being the 
larger of the two islands in the Great Pond. 

217. Munnawtawkit: Fisher's Island. Al- 
though nearer Connecticut than to Long Island, it 
belongs to New York State and to Southold town. 



On L.on^ Island 147 

"This Island is named by Roger Williams, 1637, as 
one to which the Pequots came to fish and to plant 
corn" (Fourth Series, Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. xxvii., 
pp. 189, 190). " Munnawtawkit seems to be the 
equivalent of Montaukit (Montauk) and of Mana- 
tuck, with the locative suffix; and the name may 
have been given to Fisher's Island from its high 
western hhxfi or its yet higher central hill " (Trum- 
bull's Indian Names in Connecticut). I cannot 
accept this meaning given by Mr. Trumbull, and 
would suggest as more likely its derivation from 
another study of his, viz. : " Narragansett Munna- 
whatteaug, "white fish, bony fish" [fertilizers, 
monoqiioteaug (Eliot), 'they manure or enrich 
the earth'], now corrupted to Menhaden (Alosa 
menhaden, Mitch.). The Indian name was also 
given to the herring {Clupea elongata) and to the 
alewife both of which species were used for manur- 
ing" (Trumbull's Notes on Roger Williams's Key). 
Munnawtawkit would then be composed of mun- 
nawt, "menhaden" (to fertilize); -awkit, "land or 
country," "at the fertilized land," or "at the 
menhaden country." This especially, as Williams 
says: "The Pequots went there to fish and to 
make new fields of corn. ' ' See Manittuwond. 

218. MusKYTTEHOOL : a locality at Flatlands, 
King's Co. (Munsell's Hist. King's Co., p. 71). 
This is not '' Musquito hole," as some suppose, but 
" Musquetaug hole," i. e., "a pool of water where 



148 Indian Place-Names 

rushes grow," the first part of the name being 
Musquetaug, ''place of rushes." See Mosquetah, 
Musqimtax. 

2ig. MusQUATAX: a creek on Mastic Neck, 
town of Brookhaven, so named in the Indian 
deed from Macarak, ahas Humphrey, of Unke- 
chogue, for ^ of Mastic Neck, to Andrew Gibb, 
dated April i, 1690, viz. : "Bounded west by Mus- 
quatax Creek, and Minaussums {Winnacroscombs) 
Neck to the westward ; east by Sunkapogue Creek 
and to Waspeunk or Squorums Neck : north by a 
straight line drawn from ye head of the swamp of 
Sunkapogue Creek, to the head of swamp of 
Musquatax Creek; and south by the unplowable 
meadow and South Bay" (Red Book of Deeds, 
p. 341, Town Clerk's Office, Southampton, L. I. 
Copy by Wm. S. Pelletreau, Esq.). This is a 
common name and denotes ' ' a place where rushes 
grow." (See other names in this deed.) See 
Mosquetah. 

220. Nabiachage : mentioned in will of Thomas 
Mapes, August, 1680, land in ''Nabiachage or 
Matituck'' (Liber A, p. i, of Deeds in Office of 
County Clerk at Riverhead, L. I.). Nabiachage 
represents chabia-achu-auke, "place of the divided 
or separated hills." This is a very appropriate 
name for the locality, Mattituck Creek, passing as 
it does between high hills on either side (Craven's 



On Lon^ Island 149 

History of Mattituck, p. 20). This is the only- 
reference to this name we have been able to dis- 
cover. The components of the word are chahia 
(Massachusetts chippi), "separated," "divided"; 
adchu, "hill;" -auke, "place." 

221. Nachaquatuck : a river or creek at Cold 
Spring, L. I. The western boundary of Hunting- 
ton as given in the Indian deed of 1663, viz.: 
'^ Raseokan Sagamore of Matinnicoke do sell to 
Richard Holbrook and others — certain quantity 
of land — bounded on the west side with a river 
commonly called by the Indians Nachaguetack'' 
(H. R.,vol. i.,p. i). Variations are Naccaquetack, 
Nackaquatok, Nackaquatack, Nachquatuck, 1666. 
This name Nachaquatuck represents wa-nachaqua- 
tuck, wanachaquatuck, "the ending tidal stream," 
so-called because it was the western boundary of 
Huntington. The components of the word are: 
wanachqua, "at the end of " ; -tuck, "tidal stream." 

222. Naghtognk: Corlear's Hook, Manhattan 
Island. This form of the name as given by 
Schoolcraft. Nechtauk (or Nechtank), Dutch nota- 
tion, in some respects seems to be the equivalent 
of Naugatuck in Connecticut, which derives its 
name from a remarkable single tree, that probably 
served as a land mark, Naukot-tungk (Massachu- 
setts nequttugk), "one tree" (Trumbull). See 
Rechtank. 



150 Indian Place-Names 

223. Nahicans: tribe of Indians occupying 
what is now called Montauk Point ; and the eastern 
part of Long Island, as given on a Dutch map of 
1 616 {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. i.). It signifies the 
"people of the point." It might have been ap- 
plied to Long Island by mistake for Narragansett, 
this being the anglicized name of the country of 
the Nahiganeuk (Nanhigganeuck) , the "Nahicans'' 
of the early Dutch explorers (Trumbull). James 
Mooney (Handb. of Am. Inds. N. of Mex., vol. i., 
1907, p. 28) says: " Narraganset — 'people of the 
small point,' from naiagans, diminutive of naiag, 
'small point of land,' with locative ending, -e/." 

224. Nameoke : a locality near Rockaway vil- 
lage, Hempstead town, said to be a corruption 
of a word meaning "to the water's edge" {Out 
on Long Island, p. 13, 1889). This is wrong; it 
means a "fishing place, " or "where fish are taken," 
being the same as the Indian name of New 
London, Conn. : Nameaug {Name-auke) , from name, 
"fish"; -auke, "place." 

225. Namkee: a brook or creek at the western 
bounds of Brookhaven town, near Blue Point, 
called also in the early records Manowtas squat. 
Found on record in the Indian deed of 1666, viz. : 
"Tobaccus gives a tract of land upon the south 
side of Long Island, meadow and upland, bounded 
on the west by a river called Namke" (B. H. R., 



On Long' Island 151 

vol. i.). Variants are Nanmicuke, 1668 ; Namcukey 
1670; Namko, 1735. Maps of the Island give 
it as Namkee and Namkey. "'Namcook or Wama- 
coke Neck in North and South Kingston, Rhode 
Island, said to signify a bank in Indian" (Par- 
sons). It is the same as Namkeag, the Indian 
name of Salem, Mass., and Nam'-e-auke or 
Nameock, New London, Conn., denoting a "fishing 
place," or "where fish are taken, or caught." 
The name probably belonged to the mouth of the 
creek and not to the whole creek, where the 
Indians had a "fishing- weir," or where they set 
their nets, as described by Roger Williams. See 
Nameoke. 

226. Nanemoset: the name of a brook or 
creek of uncertain location. De Kay places it 
in Southampton. "In 1663, the inhabitants of 
Setauket entered into an agreement with Capt. 
John Scott, to become copartners in a tract of 
land bounded easterly with Nanemoset Brook, 
westerly with the Nessaquaque east line, runing 
south to the middle of the Island" (Thompson's 
L. I., vol. ii., p. 321). I once believed this to be a 
personal name similar to Samoset, but as Scott 
conveyed land bounded by " QuaconsW River 
(Wading River), this is probably another name for 
that stream or its tributaries, where the Indians 
fished, and is a variation of the same name men- 
tioned in the Indian deed of Brookhaven, 1655, 



152 Indian Place-Names 

Namoss-es-et, "at or about the fish-place." 
EHot has Mishe ketahhane namossit, "as the fish 
of the great sea" (Ezekiel xlvii., lo). The com- 
ponents of the word are: namos, "fish"; -es-et, "at 
or near." 

227. Naosh: a name applied to Sandy Hook, 
N. Y. Harbor, by Henry R. Schoolcraft. It was 
taken from the Chippewa, signifying "a point 
surpassing others" (Gowans's Bibliotheca Ameri- 
cana). Baraga gives the Chippewa neidshi, "a 
point of land, projecting in the lake." See 
Nayack, Noyack. 

228. Napock: a locality mentioned as one 
of the boundaries of Brookhaven, in the Indian 
deed of 1655, viz.: "Warawakmy Sachem of 
Setaucet sells a peice of land, etc., adjoining to 
the bounds of Nesaquagg and from thence, being 
bounded with a river or great napock, nerly 
nemaukak, eastward" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. i). 
I am inclined to think the locality is the long 
series of ponds that form the head waters of 
Peconic River on the bounds between Riverhead 
and Brookhaven towns. Its signification is "a 
water-place," iromneap, "water"; -atike, "land" 
or "place." Nipock, "pool place," is a corre- 
sponding Narragansett term. See Nippaug. 

229. Naqueetatogue: "In 1691, Wamcos 



On Long Island 153 

Sagamore sells the upland of a neck of land lying 
on the southside of the Island called Naqueeta- 
togue" (Munsell's Hist. S. C, Babylon town). 
This word is an error for Naguntitogue. 

230. Narrasketuck. See Warrasketuck. 

2^1. Narrioch: Gravesend Neck, King's Co. 
The neck terminates in a point. It is cited in the 
Indian release of 1654, viz.: "said land called 
Narrioch (the Island) and MaJinahanning (the 
Neck)" (Thompson's L. I., vol. ii.). Under 
Mannahanning Thompson's error is discussed. 
The name means a "point of land"; Massachu- 
setts naiag, "point," "corner"; -auke, "land." 
See Nahicans, Nayack, and Noyack. 

232. Nashayonsuck : one of the names of 
Hashamonuk, Southold town. It belonged really 
to a brook forming one of the boundaries of the 
neck. It is mentioned in the certificate of 
William Salmon, dated 1645, recorded in 1750, viz. : 
"A parcel of land comonly called Hashammomock 
and Nashayonsuck, and right over to the North- 
sea from N assay onsuck to Monnepaught.'" Again 
in 1649: "Wm. Salmon of Hashamamuck, alias 
Neshugguncer (S. R,, vol. i., p. 176; vol. ii., p. 276), 
It corresponds to the Massachusetts Nashaue-suck, 
"the fork of the brook or outlet," or "place be- 
tween (the forks of the) brook." See Nachaqua- 
tuck. 



154 Indian Place-Names 

233. Nassakeag: on the southwest border of 
Setauket, Brookhaven town, Hes the locality called 
by the Indian name of Nassakeag or by the modern 
one of South Setauket. It was originally applied 
to a swamp at that locality, viz.: "lying near 
Nesakaks swamp — running westerly to Nasakakes 
swamp," 1697; Nasakeges swamp, 1697; Naskea- 
gue, 1743 (B. H. R., vol. i., pp. 63, 66, 156). 
Nassakeag was Sachem of the Nissequogues; his 
name is on the quit claim to Richard Smith in 
1664. Another, or possibly the same, is on the 
Indian deed of Setauket or the "North purchase" 
of 1675 (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 45). The swamp 
derives its name from being his residence or he 
may have taken the name from the swamp. 
The word is possibly the parallel of the Chippewa 
(Baraga) nawashkig, "in the middle of a swamp"; 
{nawaii, "middle"; mashkig, "swamp "). 

234. Nasseconset: Sachem of the Nissequo- 
gues in 1650. Variations are: Nasseconsack, 1650; 
Nesconsake, 1663; Nassesconset, 1664; Nesatas- 
consett, 1665. Nesconset, Post Office in Smith- 
town, so adopted in 1908. It is located midway 
between Smithtown and Lake Ronkonkoma. 
The Sachem probably takes his name from his 
dwelling place, as it is a land name. ^^ Nasses- 
conset' s land, on the east side of Nessequag River" 
(B. H. R., vol. i., p. 9). Nasseconset corresponds 
to the Massachusetts Nesse-keon-es-et, "at or 



On Lon^ Island 155 

near the second going over" (by wading or other- 
wise). The word contains neese, "two," and the 
locative -es-et, "at or near." 

235. Nayack: a point of land in the town of 
New Utrecht, King's Co. It appears in the 
early records of New Netherland, February 14, 
1652, viz. : "Manhattans Indians of New Nether- 
land, living at Nayack, a place on Long Island 
directly opposite Staten Island." An Indian 
deed of Dec. i, 1652: "For land lying eastward 
of the North River at the heads — the Indians 
shall receive six coats, six kettles, six axes, six 
hatchets, six small looking glasses, twelve knives 
and twelve cans on condition, that they the In- 
dians, and their descendants remove immediately 
from the land now occupied by them called Naieck 
and never return to live in the limits of the dis- 
trict again" {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 160, 
190). Variations are iVa3;ac^-Point, 1666; Najeck, 
1656; Najack, 1662. This is the point on which 
Fort Hamilton is situated. The name denotes 
a "point or corner of land. " See Noyack. 

236. Nayantacawnick : an island, proposed 
by Roger Williams as a suitable place of residence 
for the captive Pequots in 1637 (Foiirth Series 
Mass. H. C, vi., p. 201). This Narragansett word 
is for Nayanticacawmuck, "over against Niantic,'' 
or "over against the point of land on the tidal- 



156 Indian Place-Names 

river" (Fisher's Island or Plum Island?), accord- 
ing to Trumbull's Indian Names in Connecticut. 



22)7. Neapeague: the long sandy and marshy 
beach that connects the peninsula of Montauk 
with the main part of the Island, East Hampton 
town, a dreary waste of sand, water, and mosqui- 
toes. It is first entered on record in 1658, when: 
" Wyandanch gives to Rev. Thos. James half of 
all the whales or other great fish that shall be cast 
on the beach from Napeake eastward to the end of 
the Island" (E. H. R., vol. i., p 150). Variations 
are: Napeage, 1675; Napeag, 1700; Napeague, 
(U. S. Coast Survey) ; modernly Neapeague, 
Nap-pe'ag, etc. It signifies the "water land"; 
in the Montauk dialect Niepeage, from niep 
(Massachusetts nip or nippe) "water"; -cage 
(Massachusetts -aw^e) , "land." 

238. Neckapauge: creek in the town of Islip. 
This name appears on an old map of the Nicoll 
patent, where the creek west of Sayville (now 
Green's Creek), being the eastern bound of this 
patent, is called Neckapauge, because the begin- 
ning boundary of the Nicoll patent. Neckapauge 
corresponds to Massachusetts Nequt-pe-auke, "one 
(or the first) water-place," from nequt, "one 
(or at the beginning)"; -pe, "water"; -auke, 
"land," or "place." 



On Long' Island 157 

239. Necochawodt: "Uncertain location in 
Hempstead, Queen's Co." (De Kay). This is a 
mistake, for it is not a place but a personal name, 
although it may have been applied to some local- 
ity at some period (this I have not been able to 
verify). Mecohgawodt was the Sachem of the 
Massapeags in 1639. He conveyed all his terri- 
tory from the Rockaways to the country of the 
Secatogues to the Dutch. The name occurs also 
as Mechowodt. See Marossepinck. 

240. Necommack: see Noccomack. 

241. Neguntatogue : a neck of land south 
of the settlement of Breslau between "Little 
Neck" and " Santapogue, " Babylon town; one 
of the five necks of meadow land bought from 
the Indians in 1657. On March 2, 1663, John 
Sticklin, widower, of the town of Crafford, alias 
Jemeco, sells to Gabriel Finch "a lott of meddow 
upon the neck called Neguntetake." In 1666 
Finch sells the same: "lying upon the neck 
called Nagunttatauge'' (H. R., vol. i., pp. 55, 82). 
Variations are: Neguntataug, 1669; Nagunttatoug, 
1669; Naguntatogue, 1684. This name signifies 
" abandoned," or, "forsaken land. " The first part 
naguntta is the parallel of the Delaware n'gattasu, 
"abandoned" {n'gattummen "to leave behind"); 
Abnaki, negati, "to abandon," "to quit"; Chip- 
pewa, nin nagadam, "I abandon it"; Cree, 7ii 



158 Indian Place-Names 

natataw, "I abandon it." The same radical is 
found in the N arragansett aquegunnitteash, "fields 
worn out." No doubt upon this neck were lo- 
cated fields formerly planted by the Indians, which 
were abandoned for better land, perhaps for the 
neck lying to the eastward called Anuskkummikak, 
"land we hoe or break up." 

242. Nemaukak: a locality mentioned in the 
Indian deed of Brookhaven dated 1655, viz. : 
"being bounded with a river or great Napock, 
nerly nemaukak eastward" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. i). 
The exact locality is now unknown. The name 
is probably namo-auk-ut, "at the fishing-place." 
Related is Nemasket, "fish place" in Boston Har- 
bor, Mass. See Nanemoset. 

243. Nesaquaque Accompsett: a locality 
mentioned in an order issued by Gov. Nicolls, 
concerning the Smithtown boundary in 1670, viz.: 
"Declaring and offering to prove that ye Nesa- 
quake lands lay on both sydes of ye Ryver, and 
that parte lyeing on ye west syde comonly 
called Nesaquaque Accompsett did extend as 
farre as ye fresh pond westward" (H. R., vol. i., 
p. 170). This name can be resolved into Nesaqu- 
auke Accomp-es-et, "at the place over against the 
land on the forks of the river," "land on the 
other side of Nissequogue. ' ' The components are 
nesaqu-, "fork" ( = Delaware lechauwaak); -auke, 



On Long Island 159 

"land"; accomp- ( = Massachusetts ogkome; Chip- 
pewa agami), "on the other side," "over against 
as a whole"; -es-et, "at the place," "in the neigh- 
borhood of. ' ' 

244. Nesconset: a post-office in Smithtown. 
See Nasseconset. 

245. Neshugguncer : a corrupted form of 
Nashayonsuck (q. v.). Compare also Neshun- 
ganset Brook in Rhode Island, near the Connecti- 
cut Irae. 

246. Niamu:k: Canoe Place, Southampton 
town. Being the narrow isthmus that separates 
the two bays of Shinnecock and Peconic, now 
connected by Shinnecock canal. First found on 
record in 1662, viz.: "Part of the Shinnecock 
Indians have made over all their land from Nia- 
mack over to the old gutt westward unto Capt. 
Topping" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 2^). Again, 
"lying from a place called Niamuck or ye Canoe 
Place" (Indian Deed, 1666). Variants are Nia- 
mug, 1667; Niamocke, 1667. The meaning of the 
name is "between the fishing-places," from ni, 
"between," "midway"; -amaug, " a fishing-place " 
(Trumbull) . Both bays to-day are favorite resorts 
of the fishermen. 

247. NiPPAUG: name suggested by Mr. George 
R. Howell, in his History of Southampton 



i6o Indian Place-Names 

(2ded., 1888), for "Little Fresh Pond," between 
Southampton village and North Sea; said to 
signify a "small body of fresh water." But, 
according to Trumbull and other authorities, 
this name signifies "water-land" (from nippe, 
"water"; -auke, "land," "place"). Nappeag is 
another form of the same word. See Napock. 

248. NiPSCOP: a tract of land in the western 
part of Islip town, partly in Babylon, now the 
farm of Austin Corbin, Esq. "John Reeve, 
Sheriff of Suffolk Co., will sell at Public Auction, 
all the right and title of John Whitman, of and to, 
a certain farm situated in part of the town of 
Huntington known by the name of Conkling's 
Farm or Nipscop'' {Suffolk Gazette, Sag Harbor, 
April 22, 1809). Inquiry fails to reveal anything 
in regard to this place, except that this has been the 
traditional name of the locality beyond the memory 
of any living person. 

249. NisiNCKQUEGHACKY : a locality mentioned 
in De Kay's Indian Names, as being a village of 
the Matinnecocks at Smithtown. We find it 
referred to in 1645 as " Nisinckqueghacky at which 
the Mattinekonck now reside." It is a Dutch 
notation for Nissequogue or Nashoqu-auke. See 
Mochgonnekonck, Nissequogue. 

250. Nissequogue: a river and hamlet in the 
town of Smithtown. Formerly applied to a tribe 



On Long Island i6i 

of Indians and to the land on which they lived at 
the eastward of the river. Dutch Records of 
1645: " Nisinckqueghacky being a place where the 
Matinnecocks now reside," showing that the Nesa- 
quogues were a branch of that tribe who had 
left their early home. The Indian deed of 1650: 
"Articles of Agreement between Nasseconseke, 
Sachem of Nesequake — ^beginning at a River 
called and known by the name of Nesaquake 
River," etc. Again in 1664: ''When Nassecon- 
set soiild on the east side of the river unto Jonas 
Wood and others — did resirve half the sayd 
neck called and known by the name of Nesequage 
Neck, to himself and Indians to live and to plant 
upon" (S. H. R., vol. i.). The late Hon. J. Law- 
rence Smith in his notes on Smithtown (Mun- 
sell's S. C.) has: "The tribe and river derived 
their name from Nesaquake, an Indian Sagamore, 
the father of Nasseconsety This derivation of 
the name is certainly wrong, for it is a place-name 
not a personal one, although if he was so-called, 
he may have taken it from the place where he 
lived, as was frequently the case. I have been 
unable to find any Indian of that name. The 
variations are: Nesequagg, 1655; Neesaquock, 1665; 
Nesaquake, 1666; Nasaquack, 1666; Neesoquauk, 
1663; Nesquauk, 1665; Nesoquack, 1671; Nassa- 
quake, 1675; modemly Nissequogue. The main 
theme of the name seems to be a derivative corre- 
sponding to the Massachusetts pissaqua, "mire," 



i62 Indian Place-Names 

"clay," "mud," etc.; Delaware, assisquo, "clay," 
"mud," etc. The terminal -hctcky, -ack, -ake, de- 
notes " land " or "country. " When the word was 
spoken by the Indians there was evidently a nasal 
sound preceding the vowel, or an exchange of p for 
n, hence we have the name N'issaqu-ack = 7iissa- 
quack, "the clay or mud country, " in the English 
notation, or n' isinckqueghacky in the Dutch nota- 
tion, which may have referred to its clay deposits, 
frequented by the Indians for obtaining a desirable 
quality of clay for making their pottery vessels, 
or to the meadows hereabouts. 

251. NoBBS: the creek now known as "Goose 
Creek" near Flanders, Southampton town, flow- 
ing into the Great Peconic Bay. So-called in the 
testimony of Paucamp taken down in 1660, who 
mentioned five creeks: "the second Nobbs." 
Nobbs is possibly an abbreviation of a longer 
name; and perhaps the same as the Micmac 
p'nopsques, "white-fish," "bony-fish," also called 
by the Narragansetts munnawhatteaUg, "fer- 
tilizers," because used by both the Indians and 
whites for manuring their land. They are still 
so used in this section when obtainable. See 
Messemennuck. 

252. NoccoMACK: meadows and land on the 
west side of Mastic Neck, Brookhaven town. 
The release by Wm. Smith, June i, 1734, has: 



On Long' Island 163 

"Confirmed to the inhabitants the meadows on 
the west side of Mastic called Nacomak" (B. H. R., 
voLi.,p. 133). Variations are: Nacommock, 1734; 
Necommack, 1753; Noccomack, 1880. In Wm. 
Smith's quit-claim, 1753, it is referred to as 
"meadow, marsh, or morish ground — between 
the said river and upland" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 
170). Noccomack = Na-komuk signifies "midway- 
place" or "place between," i. e., the upland and 
bay as referred to in the above record. The 
components of the word are na ( = Massachusetts 
noe) "in the middle"; -komuk, "place." 

253. NoMiNiCK : hills on Montauk, East Hamp- 
ton town. These hills rise out of the sandy waste 
of Neapeague, forming the bold, rugged outline 
of the western extremity of Montauk. 

Cheerless Neapeague! now bounds the heart to gain 
The hills that spring beyond thy weary plain. 

Legends oj Montauk (1849). 

Variations are: Nummonok, Naumunack, Nom- 
monock, Nominick, Nomnick. The name is tradi- 
tional and does not appear in the early records 
of the town. In the Brooklyn Eagle Almanac for 
1888, 1 gave it as meaning "high dry land" and in 
the issue for 1889 as "land or place lifted high," 
deriving it from a word corresponding to the 
Delaware aspeniimen, Massachusetts, uspiinnu- 
mun, "elevated," "lifted high." I am now 



i64 Indian Place-Names 

satisfied as to the error of this, and that the name 
is the equivalent of the Massachusetts nunnum, 
"to see" {naumunat, "to be seen"), Delaware, 
nemeneep, "I have seen. " Thus we have naumun- 
auke, "land to be seen (afar off)." 

254. Nonowantuck: said to be the Indian 
name of Mount Sinai, Brookhaven town. It be- 
longed originally to a creek and not to the land. 
I have been unable to find any early forms, the 
name as far as I can learn is traditional. The 
locality at a very early date was known as the 
"Old Man's" from an old Indian resident. An 
old decrepit Indian was designated as an "old 
Homes'' (see Smithtown Certificate, 1663; Mun- 
sell's S. C; Massetewse's Deed, 1664; B. H. R., 
vol. i., p. 12). The first part nonowan is the same 
as the Narragansett (R. Williams) nimnowa^ 
"harvest time," literally "it is dry." With the 
affix -tuck, "a creek," we have nunnowa-iuck, 
"a creek that dries up," "a dry creek." Into 
the west side of the harbor a small stream once 
found its way from the plains of the interior. 
This was called the "Crystal Brook," and the 
valley left by it is still known by that name 
(Bayles's Notes on Mount Sinai; Munsell's Hist. 
S. C). 

255- Nosh: a lot of land at Southampton, 
L. I. Under a record of 1693, we find: "a lot 



On Long Island 165 

in the ox pasture going under the name of a 
nosh lot — by reason of the woody ness of it" 
(S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 129). The word may not 
be Indian, but is probably a variant of hosk, "a 
thicket" or "small forest {bosky, woody, or 
bushy) covered with boscage or thicket." The 
origin would thus be from the Dutch bosch, "a 
thicket," "bush." 

256. Nowedonah: name of the Shinnecock 
Sachem in 1648. Now bestowed upon the "Mill 
Pond" at Water Mill, Southampton town. This 
will perpetuate the name of one who probably 
paddled in its waters and fished in the depths of 
Lake Nowedonah. He is said to have been the 
youngest of the four brothers who were the Sa- 
chems of the four eastern Long Island tribes ; and 
he was the same Sachem previously known as 
Wittaneymen. Some histories give the name as 
Nowedinah. The name Nowedonah corresponds 
to the Delaware natonawoh, "I vseek him," 
(n'dona, "seek"; neniauwi n'donamen, "I '11 go 
and seek it"). In fact the word signifies "the 
seeker." He probably received this name in 
1645, when he went "to find" or "to seek out" 
the enemies of the Dutch. See Mochgonne- 
konck. 

257. NOYACK: a hamlet in the township of 
Southampton, on Noyack Bay about four miles 



i66 Inidiani Place-Names 

from Sag Harbor. In 1668: "At a meeting of 
the nebours of the North Sea have granted to Mr. 
John Jennings that he shall (have) liberty to 
fence in a peice of the North side of Noyack river," 
etc. (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 241). In 1686: "that 
Mr. Obadiah Rogers shall have the stream at 
Noyak to set a fulling mill upon" (S. H. R., vol. ii., 
p. 206). Variants are Noyack, 1686; Noiack, 1712. 
Modernly the word is spelt Noyac or Noyack. The 
name signifies ' ' a point or corner of land . ' ' Noyack 
corresponds to the Massachusetts Naiag, "point" 
or "corner." Trumbull (Notes to the Narr. 
Club ed. of R. Williams's Key) remarks: "I may 
be permitted to suggest that nai, 'having cor- 
ners,' and naiag or naiyag (as Eliot writes the 
word), 'a corner' or 'angle,' gave the name to many 
points of land on the sea-coast and rivers of New 
England, e. g., Nayatt Point in Barrington, Mass., 
Nayack in Southampton, L. I.," etc. Noyack no 
doubt takes its name from the long point or neck 
of land now known as Jessup's Neck, at one time 
called "Farrington's Point." 

258. Occapogue: "The name of a stream on 
Long Island, N. Y. " (Boyd's Indian Local Names). 
I cannot find any other authority for this name. 
It is possibly one of the many variations of Aque- 
bogue, Riverhead town. See Aquebogue. 

259. Occombamack: see Acombamack. 



On. Lon^ Island 167 

260. Okenok: see Oquenock. 

261. Omkalog: a locality in the town of 
Southampton. Mentioned in the "Case" of 
the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty 
of the town of Southampton against the Mecox 
Bay Oyster Company, 1888, p. 431, viz.: "Sept. 2, 
1760, Ordered by said Trustees that Josiah Good- 
ale for 8 shillings which he promises to pay to the 
trustees of this town shall and may have liberty 
to use and improve the land which he has already 
cleared at Omkalog for the term of this year, but 
he, the said Goodale, is to clear no more" (Re- 
cords of the Proprietors, p. 119). W. J. Post, 
Esq., Town Clerk, informs me by letter that in the 
original record it is Aukabog, Omkalog being an 
error in transcribing. The land that Goodale 
cleared was at Flanders in the immediate vicinity 
of what is called "Goose Creek." See Aquebogue. 

262. Onchechaug: see Unkechaug. 

263. Onuck: see Wonunke. 

264. OosuNK: a locality on Yaphank Creek, 
south of the village of Yaphank, in the town 
of Brookhaven. In 1808 the name appears as 
Oosence. See Asawsunce. 

265. Opcatkontycke : a brook at Northport, 
Huntington town. Mentioned in the Indian 



l68 Indian Place-Names 

deed of the first purchase, 1653, viz.: "certain 
quantitie of land, lying and being upon Long 
Island, bounded upon the west side with a river 
commonly called by the Indians Nachaguetack, on 
the north side with the sea and going eastward 
to a river called Opcatkontycke'' (H. R., vol. i., 
pp. I, 2). Another copy: "to a river called 
Oxeatcontyck'' (Book of Deeds, vol. ii., p. 252, 
Office of Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.). A note 
by Hon. C. R. Street says, "This is the stream 
at the head of Northport Harbor." The ter- 
minal affix of this name, -tycke is an error for 
the inseparable generic -tuk, or -tuck, denoting 
"water in motion," "a creek," or "tidal river"; 
the other component oxeatcon= Massachusetts 
ts)skeo7t (Eliot), "a ford"; Narragansett, toyuskat, 
"at the ford," or " wading-place " {tocekefuck, 
"let us wade"). Oxeatcontuck thus signifies "the 
wading-place creek." The Indian path or trail, 
no doubt, crossed the creek. 

266. Operhoweseck: a brook in Huntington 
town. At a town meeting, June 6, 1687: "It 
was voted that Judge Pallmer shall be taken 
as a trustee in our patent, only in reference to ye 
soill right of that land betwixt Operhoweseck and 
fresh pond — westward of ye bounds before men- 
tioned namely Opechowseck which is a small 
brook running into ye mill brooke" ( H. R., 
vol. i., p. 499). Probably this word is for Chop- 



On Lon^ Island 169 

pachaii-suck, "the place of separation brook." 
See Choppauhshapaugaiisuck. 

26^. Oppeax: creek on Rockaway Neck, 
Queen's Co. On March 20, 1684, "John Hansen 
petitions for a patent for a tract of land lying at a 
creek called Oppeax'' (Cal. of Land Papers, p. 
27, Office of the Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.). 
See Hapax. 

268. Oquenock: a neck of land in the western 
part of Islip town. ''Oquenock Neck corrupted 
to Oak Neck is said to have been the burial place 
of the Indians, and this is believed to be the mean- 
ing of the word. Oquenock Brook bounds it on 
the east and separates it from Saghtekoos or Apple- 
tree Neck" (Munsell's Hist. S. C, Islip). This 
tradition is certainly wrong, for it is not an Indian 
name, the early form being simply "Oak Neck," 
which, by some strange metamorphosis, has been 
corrupted into the seemingly aboriginal one of 
Oquenock or Okenok as it appears on some maps. 
This is proven by the following: Gov. Fletcher's 
license to Stephen Van Courtlandt to purchase 
land of the natives in 1692 says: "a neck of land 
called by the Indian name of Saghtekoos and by 
the Christians Appletree Neck, being bound on 
the west side by Oake Neck Brook to an Indian 
foot path" (Munsell's Hist. S. C). Fletcher's 
patent to Thos. and Richard Willets, Oct. 10 



170 Indian Place-Names 

1695, says: "two certain necks of land and 
meadow — beginning at a certain pepperidge tree 
standing on the bank of Oak Neck creek" (Mun- 
selVs Hist. S. C). 

269. Orawac, Orowoc: a brook at Islip, 
sometimes called the "Paper Mill Brook." First 
recorded in 1692, when Gov. Ingoldsby granted a 
patent to Andrew Gibb: "For a certain tract 
of vacant land on Long Island commonly called 
Wingatt happah Neck — bounded on the west by 
Orawack River" (Munsell's Hist. S. C, Islip). 
Variations are: Oratvacke, 1697; Orawack, 1701; 
Osawack, 1708. Modernly Orawac, Orowoc, Ora- 
woc, and on some maps, Oriwic. This part of 
Islip town was the last settled. The land covered 
by timber intersected and dotted by numerous 
streams and swamps, it naturally remained un- 
occupied for a long period after the settlement 
of other towns on Long Island. From the great 
scarcity of aboriginal relics and evidences of 
village sites, it must have been also destitute of 
Indian habitations, for history informs us that 
the two principal villages of the Indians were 
located at Secatogue Neck on the west, and at 
Unkechaug Neck in Brookhaven town on the 
east, thus leaving the greater part of the present 
town of Islip a wilderness, and as such it remains 
to-day. The brook takes its name from the land 
in the vicinity, being as stated in Gibbs's patent, 



On Long Island 171 

"vacant land." Orawack is the parallel of the 
Massachusetts (Eliot) touwa-aiike, "old vacant, 
abandoned land," "wild land"; Delaware tau- 
watawik, "an uninhabited tract " {tauwataivigue, 
"in the wilderness"); Micmac (Rand) taipkwaak, 
"wilderness." Eliot uses toiiohkomuk or touwa- 
komuk for a "wild-place," "a wilderness," "a 
desert," "a forsaken place," "wood country," 
"forest." Orapakes, Orapaks, or Orohpikes in 
Virginia is of the same derivation: Touoh-pe- 
auke, "a wild water-place," "wilderness water- 
place," probably a swamp. It is frequently 
mentioned by Capt. John Smith, who says: 
"About 25 miles lower on the North side of this 
river [Pamunkee] is Werawocomoco where their 
king [Powhatan] inhabited when Captain Smith 
was delivered him prisoner; . . . but now he 
hath abandoned that, and liveth at Orapakes by 
Youghtanund in the wilderness." Again: "But 
he took so little pleasure in our neare neighbor- 
hood, that were able to visit him against his will 
in 6 or 7 hours, that he retired himself to a place in 
the deserts at the top of the river Chickahamania 
betweene Youghtanund and Powhatan. His habi- 
tation there is called Orapakes where he ordinarily 
now resideth." And again: "he retired him- 
selfe to Orapakes in the desert betwixt Chicka- 
hamania and Youghtanund'' (Smith's Works, 
Arber's ed., pp. 51, 80, 375). This locality is an 
interesting one from the fact of its being the 



172 Indian Place-Names 

scene of the battles of the Wilderness during the 
late rebellion. Grant, in his Memoirs (vol. ii., 
p. 258) says: "The country we were now in was 
a difficult one to move troops over. The streams 
were numerous, deep, and sluggish, sometimes 
spreading out into swamps, grown up with 
impenetrable growths of trees and underbrush, 
the banks were generally low and marshy making 
the streams difficult to approach except where 
there were roads and bridges." 

270. Oriock: on Jan. 22, 1703, Lancaster 
Symes, et al. , petition for a license to purchase a 
tract of land in the county of Suffolk, at the 
mouth of a river called Oriock (Cal. of Land 
Papers in Office of Sec'y of State, p. 64). See 
Orawac. 

271 . OsHAMAMUCKS : Frcsh Pond on the bound- 
ary between Huntington and Smithtown. Re- 
corded in 1694: "land on ye west side of ye fresh 
pond, commonly known by ye name of Oshama- 
mucks" (H. R., vol. ii., p. 160). See Unshema- 
muck. 

272. OUHEYWICHKINGH : an Indian village on 
Long Island, taken under the protection of four 
principal tribes as stated in a treaty of 1645. 
"Ouweehacky, locality unknown on L. I. Sound," 
according to De Kay. Allowing for the variations 



On Long' Island 173 

which the other Indian names in this treaty pre- 
sent, and the sound of the word in being spoken, 
this village must have been the one located on 
Mastic Neck, Brookhaven, and known to the 
English as Unkechaug. The termination in Dutch 
notation, -wichkingh corresponds to the Delaware 
wick-ink, "place of the houses," ''a village," 
We thus have Unke-wik-ink, "village on the 
other side (of a hill)," and Ouwee-hacky, 
"country beyond," both forms being variations 
of the idea in Ufikechaug, "land beyond the hill." 
See Mochgonnekonck, Unkechaug. 

273. Owenamchock: "The eastward bounds 
of Tobacus' land sold to Setauk" (Memorandum 
on file, B. H. R., vol. i., p. 33, 1668-9). Possibly 
a variation of Occombamack or Accombamack, as 
this was the eastward bounds of the land sold by 
Tobacus to Gov. Winthrop in 1666 (B. H. R., 
vol. i., p. 23). The name Owenamchock = Ongk- 
nameech-auke, "beyond the fishing place." The 
components of the word would be ongk-, "be- 
yond"; nameech, ''fish" ; = auke, "place." 

274. Pagganck: Governor's Island, N. Y. 
Harbor. The Indian deed of June 16, 1637, 
says: " Cacapeteyno and Pewihas as owners — 
acknowledge, that they have transferred, cede 
and convey to and for the behoof of Wouter Van 
Twiller, Director General of New Netherland, 



174 Indian Place-Names 

the nut Island, in the Indian tongue called Pag- 
ganck, situate opposite the Island of the Mafia- 
hates (Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 14). Also 
"Nutten Island," and by the Indians " Pag- 
ganch" (French's Gazetteer of N. Y., i860). 
Governor's Island bore the name of "Nut Island" 
during the Holland supremacy (nut is in Dutch 
nutten) but whether, as it is suspected, this was a 
translation of the Indian Pecanuc, or "nut trees, " 
is not certain. My search seems to make it so, 
for Pagganck is no doubt the parallel of 
the Delaware pachgammak, "black walnut" 
(pachgammschi, "white walnut trees ") ; Chippewa 
(Baraga) paganak, "nut," "walnut," "hazel 
nut . " The common hickory-n ut was calle d paean , 
a general name for all hard-shell nuts, meaning 
"that which is cracked with an instrument" — 
by a stone, or hammer. Strachey's Virginian 
vocabulary has paukauns for "walnuts." At 
the west and north this name (as, e. g., pacanes 
and modem pekan and pekan-nut) has been ap- 
propriated to a single species, the fruit of the 
Carya olivcejormis (Trumbull's Words derived from 
N. A . Indian Languages) . 

275. Pahehetock: a locality on the eastern 
end of Long Island. Probably the Dutch nota- 
tion for Peconic or Pehikkomuk, the small pali- 
sadoed village of the Indians at Ucqiiebauge. 
Mentioned in a declaration concerning trade with 



On. Lon^ Island 175 

the Indians on Long Island, when two Dutchmen 
testify before the Secretary of New Netherland: 
"That it is true and truthful that they have been 
in the months of October, November, etc. A° — 
1647, with Govert Loockmans and his bark along 
the north coast from New Netherland to Pahehe- 
tock, Crommegou and New Haven, during which 
voyage they neither saw, nor heard, nor ever 
knew that Govert Loockmans himself, or any 
of his crew had directly or indirectly traded or 
bartered with or to the Indians, there or elsewhere 
any powder, lead or guns, except that he, Loock- 
mans made a present of about a pound of powder 
to the Chief Rochhon in the Crommegou and pur- 
chased two geese in the Crommegou and half a 
deer at Pahetoc with powder; without having 
given to, or exchanged with the Indians anything 
else to our knowledge {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., 
p. 94). Crommegouw was the name given to 
Gardiner's Bay by the Dutch and signifies 
"crooked coast or district." See Peconic. 

276. Pahquahkossit: Wading River, River- 
head town. So recorded in 1687 (S. R., vol. i., 
p. 344). See Pauquacumsuck. 

277. Pamunke: see Paumanack. 

277 a. Panothticutt: see Penataquit. 



176 Indian Place-Names 

2^8. Pantigo: a locality between East Hamp- 
ton village and Amagansett. Recorded as early 
as 1669, when William Edwards gives his daughter 
Sarah: "that Lott that Lyeth at pantego." 
Again in 1680: "upland lying at the place com- 
monly called pantigo'' (E. H. R,, vol. i., p. 320; 
vol. ii., p. 89). The early settlers frequently 
gave names to localities from some local happen- 
ing. Among such names we find ' ' Hard Scrabble, ' ' 
"Toilsome," "Scuttle Hole," " Whippoorwill, " 
etc. Pantigo, supposed to be aboriginal, evidently 
belongs to the same class, and is probably the 
EngHsh "pa7it-I-go." In this derivation Hon. 
Henry P. Hedges, the East Hampton historian, 
concurs. 

279. Papequatunck : "locality on the south- 
east bounds of Oyster Bay town (De Kay). 
But according to the following it is on the west 
side. Found in the first Indian deed of 1653, viz. : 
"All the land lying and situate upon Oyster 
Bay, and bounded by Oyster Bay River to the 
east side, and Papequtunck on the west side" 
(Thompson, vol. i., p. 485). This was a tract 
of land cleared by the Indians for their planting 
ground. Papequatun, or papequtun corresponds 
to the Massachusetts pohquetaham (Eliot), "bro- 
ken"; the terminal is -aicke, "land." Trumbull 
writes the word Paiiquettahun-auke, "land 
opened," or "broken up," i. e., after it had been 



On Lon^ Island 177 

once planted or dug over. Cuttyhunk in Massa- 
chusetts is a corruption from the same and we 
find also the Pequot Paucatun'nuc (Stiles), 1761. 

280. Paquatuck: creek on the line between 
East and Centre Moriches, Brookhaven town, 
now known as Terrell's River. Fletcher's Pa- 
tent, 1697, gives: "On the west by a river on the 
west side of Mariches Neck, called Paquatuck.'' 
Variations are Pacotuck, 1697; Poquatuck, 1703. 
Modernly Pautuck. The name Paquatuck = pau- 
qua-tuck, "a clear (or open) creek," from paqua, 
"open," "clear"; -tuck, "tidal river," "creek." 

281. Paquinapagogue : mentioned in De 
Kay's Indian Names of L. /., as being a tract of 
land in Smithtown with the query "where?" 
De Kay probably obtained it from Thompson 
(vol. i., p. 456), who, supposing the Richard 
Smith of Rhode Island to be the same Richard 
Smith of Smithtown, erroneously quotes a Rhode 
Island Indian deed. Parsons {Indian Names of 
R. I.) quotes it as Poppaquijinapaug, now Fen- 
ner's Pond, near Pawtuxet. The name is 
probably Paqwa-quinna-paug, "the shallow long 
pond"; from pagwa ( = Massachusetts p07igqui), 
' ' shallow ' ' ; quinna ( = Massachusetts qunni) , 
"long"; -paug, "pond." 

282. Pascu-ucks: a creek in the town of 
Babylon. Indian deed of 1689 from island in the 



178 Indian Place-Names 

Great South Bay: "bounded on the east by a 
certaine creek which is called by us Pascu-ucks, 
all the meadow lying westward of Pascu-ucks of 
the said Island Screcunkas" (H. R., vol. ii., p. 48). 
This name probably pachau-auke, "turning place," 
or "where they divide" (the "dividing-place" of 
the said Island), from pdchau ( = Massachusetts 
poksheau), "it divides itself"; -auke, "land," 
"place." See Patchogue. 

283. Passasqueung: a creek in South Oyster 
Bay, Queen's Co. It is probably the same river 
or creek called Arrasqtcaug, and mentioned as 
being the western boundary of the town in Andros 
Patent of 1677, and now called "Minell's Creek." 
In a remonstrance by the inhabitants of Oyster 
Bay to the people of Huntington in 1663, we find: 
"Then we do by this request you to forbear mow- 
ing our meadow which being at the river Passas- 
queung" (Munsell's Hist. Queen's Co.). In the 
Brooklyn Eagle Almanac for 1890, I gave the 
signification as "land that rises* or stands up," 
the chief component corresponding to the Dela- 
ware pachsucquin; Narragansett pasuckquish, 
"to rise." On inquiry, I find that the land in 
this section is mostly level and that this could 
not be a descriptive term for that locality, the 
same being mostly meadow land. It is no doubt 
the equivalent of the Massachusetts (Eliot) pis- 
seaquane, "mire"; pissaquanit, "in the mire" 



On L,on^ Island 179 

(Job viii., II; Ps. xl., 2), with the suffix -ung or 
-aug, "land." We have, thereiore, Passasquauke, 
"miry land." See Arrasquaug and Assasquage. 

284. Passquessit: "the east end of Fisher's 
Island, Southold town" (President Stiles's Itiner- 
ary, 1 761; Trumbull's Indian Names in Conn.). 
Trumbull gives no signification. The east end of 
the Island is quite high with hills and bluffs, 
so I would suggest that it is the equivalent of the 
Narragansett pasuckquish (R. Williams), Delaware 
pachsucquin, "to rise," "to stand up," with the 
diminutive locative suffix, — es-et; Passuqu-es-et, 
"at the place where it rises or stands up. " 

285. Patchogue: a village in the western part 
of Brookhaven town. Pochoug Neck containing 
some three hundred acres was number three, in 
the seven necks of land disposed of in Avery's 
lottery in 1758. The name by some of the Long 
Island historians is said to have been derived 
from a so-called Pochaug tribe of Indians. That 
an individual Indian has a similar cognomen and 
lived in Brookhaven town is proven by a deed of 
1703, where Paushag signs as one of the grantors. 
The popular meaning, among the residents of the 
village is, "a place of many streams," but the 
etymology of the word will not allow this inter- 
pretation. Variations are Pochoug, 1758; Pochog, 
1759; Patchague, 1825. Similar names of places 



l8o Indian Place-Names 

occur in New England viz. : Pachaug River in 
Voluntown and Griswold, Conn.; Pachaug Neck 
on Taunton River, Mass. Westbrook, Conn., 
was called Pochaug (on some maps Patchogue). 
Trumbull gives: Pachatig = pdchau-auke, denoting 
a "turning-place", whence perhaps the river's 
name; and says: "Patchogue in Brookhaven, L. I., 
is probably the same name." But Pochaug in 
Westbrook, he derives from pohshdog (Eliot), 
"where they divide in two," from the fact that 
two rivers came together there and were regarded 
by the Indians as one divided river {Indian 
Names in Connecticut). 

286. Patchummuck: a locality mentioned as 
one of the bounds of Hashamomuk Neck, at the 
head of Tom's Creek, Southold, 1660, viz.: "and 
so to the North sea at the head of the said creeke 
called in Indian Patchummuck, so along to the 
North east to a place called Minnapaugs'' 
(S. R., vol. i., p. 208). The name appears as 
Pashimamsk in Salmon's Certificate of 1645, 
recorded in 1750 (S. R., vol. ii., p. 276). The 
word Patchummuck — Pdchau-omuk, "turning aside 
place," "place where it turns aside," because at 
this point (the head of Tom's Creek) the bounds 
"turn aside" to the northeast. See Patchogue. 

287. Pattersquash : a small island opposite a 
creek of the same name at Mastic Neck, Brook- 



On Long Island i8l 

haven town. It appears first in 1670, viz.: 
"a tract of land running from the head of Pater- 
squas — which is to be understood, all the land and 
meadows comonly called pattersqttas" (B. H. R., 
vol. i., p. 27). Variants are Patterquash, 1790; 
Patterqitos, Paterquas, Patter squash (various maps) . 
This is another instance where the early form 
seems more like a personal name ("comonly called 
Patter squa's land and meadow"). An Indian 
lived on Mastic at this period called Paterquam. 
His name is on Smith's deed to Indians in 1700. 
Trumbull says, of a similar name in Connecticut: 
"It might be from petuquis, 'round'; -as or -es, 
diminutive; petuqu-as 'a small round place,' 'hill,' 
'wigwam,' or 'sweat house.' " See Poosepatuck. 

288. Paucackatun : This form is found on a 
contemporaneous copy of the original Indian 
deed of 1648, made by Richard Terry, formerly 
in the library of the late John Carson Brevoort. 
See Paucuckatux. 

289. Pauchogue: a creek in the town of Islip. 
See Patchogue. 

290. Paucuckatux: a creek on the bounds of 
Hashamomuk Neck, Southold town, probably the 
one known as Tom's Creek. First mentioned in 
the Indian deed of May 6, 1648, viz.: '' Mama- 
wetoMgh Sachem of Ciirchage, conveys to Gov. 



i82 Indian Place-Names 

Eaton, Stephen Goodyear and another of New 
Haven, for six coates, a tract of land beginning 
at a creeke called and knowne by the name of 
Paucuckatux, bounded on the west by the land 
in the occupacon of William Solmon, extending 
itself eastward towards Plum Isle, the breadth 
thereof also, to the North and South sea, and also 
Plum Isle aforesaid" (Book of Deeds, vol, ii,, 
Office Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.). An Indian 
deed of 1660 has: "and from thence southward to 
a creek called Paucuckatux.'' Again in 1661: 
"to a certain creek the Indians call Paugetuck 
on the southside" (S. R., vol. i,, pp. 208, 210). 
The name Paucuckatux is derived from paucucka 
( = Massachusetts pohqueta), "divided"; -tuck, 
"a creek," "tidal river," "cove," "estuary." 
See Payaguotusk. 

291. Paugetuck: ^ee Paucuckatux. 

292. Paumanack, Pommanock: a name of 
Eastern Long Island, governed by the Sachems of 
Shelter Island and Montauk. The first mention 
of the name that I have been able to find is in the 
Indian deed for Gardiner's Island, May 3, 1639: 
" Yovawan, Sachem of Pommanocc and Aswaw 
Sachem his wife," etc. (Lechford's Note Book, 
pp. 129, June 27, 1638 to July 29, 1641). The 
title "Sachem of Pommanock or Paumanack'' was 
used only by the Sachem of Montauk. The four 



On Long' Island 183 

Sachems of the district covered by this title were 
brothers, consequently were united into one band 
for mutual protection and interest. In the various 
deeds given by the two Sachems the following 
variations occur: Pommanocc, 1639; Pamunke, 
164.8; Pammanach, 1656; Pawmanuck, 1658; Pam- 
manake, 1658; Paumanuck, 1659; Paumanacke, 
1659; Pamanack, 1659; Pommanock, 1665. Some 
authorities have also Paumanacke and Pauman- 
hacky. The meaning suggested in the Brooklyn 
Eagle Almanac for 1889: "land where there is 
travelling by water (cf, the Delaware pomma'- 
hum, "to travel by water," etc.) seemed to be 
right as applied to the cove-indented shores of 
this part of Long Island, but later investigation 
compelled me to reject it for the one given in the 
same Almanac for 1890, viz.: "land of tribute." 
Here pauman or ^omwaw = Narragansett, pum- 
munun, "he offers" or "devotes"; pummen'um, 
"contributes" (from this comes pumpom, "a 
tribute of bear's skin"). Eliot has up-paupau- 
men-uk (Numbers, viii., 21), "he habitually or by 
custom offers it." Thus we have Pauman-auke, 
"land of tribute. " That this part of Long Island 
was under tribute at this period and previous 
both to the Pequots and to the whites, is abun- 
dantly proven by all the older writers, such as 
Gookin, Winthrop, and others. "At a meeting 
of the Commissioners of the United Colonies of 
N. E. at Hartford, Sept. 6, 1644, Youghcoe, the 



184 Indian Place-Names 

Sachem of Manhansett on Long Island, presented 
himself to the court, desiring that, in regard he 
was tributary to the English and had hitherto 
observed the articles of agreement heretofore 
made (1637), he might receive from them a cer- 
tificate, etc., whereby his relation to the English 
should appear and he be preserved as much as 
might be from unjust grievances and vexations." 
Therefore they gave the following certificate: — 
"and whereas the Indians in the eastern part of 
Long Island are become tributaries to the English 
and have engaged their lands to them ; and whereas 
Youghco, Wiantance, Moughmaitow, and Weenaka- 
min do profess themselves friends to the English 
and Dutch — It is our desire that the said Saga- 
more and their companions may enjoy full peace" 
(Plymouth Col. Records, vol. ix., p. 18; Thompson, 
vol. i., p. 365). See the discussion of Paumanack 
in the Algonquian Series, vol. iv., pp. 21-38. 

293. Pauquacumsuck : a creek now called 
the ''Wading River" at the post ofBce of the 
same name, Riverhead town. It is mentioned 
in all the early deeds relating to the tract of land 
called "Occabuck, " being its western boundary. 
The deed of 1648 being an exception. Variations 
areiPequaockeon, 1660; Quaconsuck, i66o;Pauqua- 
consut, 1665; Pauquaconsuck, 1666; Paquaconsit, 
i6yg ; Pauquacumsok, 1686; Pauquacumsuck, 1685; 
Paquahkossii, 1687 (S. H., vol. i., 2). In the 



On Long' Island 185 

testimony of Paucamp, an old Indian, aged 80, 
taken down by Wm. Wells in 1660, with the aid 
of an interpreter, in the presence of many English 
and Indians, we find: "and further says that the 
bounds of Occabauk aforesaid go on a straight 
line from the head of ye River (Peconic) to the 
wading creek on ye North Beach (at the sound) 
which is called Pequaockeon because Pequaocks are 
found there" (Book of Deeds, vol. ii., p. 213, 
Office of Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.). The 
components of Pauquacumsuck are: Pequaock^ 
poquahoc (Unkechaug) , poquauhock (Narragan- 
sett), p'quanghhaug (Pequot), pekwahat (Ab- 
naki), quohaug (Montauk), signifying either "thick 
shell" or "tightly closed shell" (Trumbull); the 
name of the round clam or quohaug {Venus 
mercenaria L.) found in great abundance on Long 
Island; keon represents the Massachusetts ts)s- 
keon (Eliot), "to wade"; -suck, "outlet." Po- 
quahoc-keon-suck thus signifies "the brook or 
outlet where we wade for clams, " "a clam wading 
brook." The late Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan sug- 
gests that the English name is derived from 
wading after the clam, whilst the aboriginal 
means the locality of the fish; in short, clam 
river {Amer. Hist. Mag., 1858, vol. ii., No. 5, 
p. 149). 

294 Pautuck: creek at Moriches, L. I. See 
Poquatuck. 



i86 Indian Place-Names 

295. Pawcuck: a neck of land in Westhamp- 
ton, L. I. See Apocuck. 

296. Payaquotusk: a neck mentioned in the 
certificate to Wm. Salmon, as being northeast 
of his house on Hashamomuk Neck, Southold town, 
1645, viz.: "to the neck north east of my house 
which neck is called Payaquotusk'' (S. R., vol. ii., 
p. 276). The neck is now called "Pipe's Neck." 
It takes its name from the estuary on its southern 
extremity which divides into two branches. See 
Paucuckatux. 

297. Peacepunck: west branch of the Nise- 
quogue River, Smithtown. It is so named in a 
partition division among the heirs of Richard 
Smith, May 14, 1736, "then layd out a Certain 
tract of Land on the right of Deborah Lawrence 
Containing five hundred acres lying on the west 
side of Smithtown river att a place where the Mills 
now stands bounded as foloweth begining att the 
said river att a certain branch of the said river 
lying southward of the said Mills called the peace- 
punck branch, etc." (Copy from O. B. Ackerly, 
Esq.) See Pesapunck. 

298. Peconic: the river that separates the 
towns of Southampton and Riverhead, the Peconic 
Bay, and a village in Southold town now perpetu- 
ate the name. By a deed, dated June 12, 1639, 



On Long Island 187 

(really June 12, 1649) James Farrett conveyed 
to Edward Howell and associates, the first settlers 
at Southampton: "All those lands lying and 
being bounded between Peaconeck and the easter- 
most Point of Long Island, with the whole breadth 
from sea to sea" {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. iii., pp. 
21, 22). In the Indian deed to John Ogden, May 
12, 1659, the bounds are given: "Northward to 
the waters of the bay and to the creek of Acco- 
baucke, westward to the place called Pehecon- 
nacke" (E. H. R., vol. i., p. 156). Variations 
are: Pehaconnuck, 1667 ; Pehik-konuk, i66'j\Pehic- 
koneck, 1667; Peaconnock, 1679; Peheconnuck, 
1688; Pehoco7ineck, 1689; Peaconnet, 1690; mod- 
ernly, Peconic. In the Brooklyn Eagle Almanac 
for 1888, 1'gave the meaning as "water at point of 
land. " This was furnished me by Prof. E. N.'Hors- 
fordof Cambridge, who derived it irompe-, ' 'water' ' ; 
-igan, "a point"; -ak, "land." I am satisfied 
that this is an error, ignoring the long and more 
ancient form of the name. Besides pe= "water, " 
is an inseparable generic used only at the end 
of compound words and inadmissible as a prefix, 
being equivalent as such to nippe or neape, as in 
Neapeage, Napock. It has been suggested that 
the name might be derived from pecanuc, "nut 
trees," or was one of the forms of poquannock, 
"cleared land." Pelletreau's paper on Long 
Island Indian Names derives it from the Nar- 
ragansett paquanau auke, "a battle field," "a 



i88 Indian Place-Names 

slaughter-place." This, no doubt, is also incor- 
rect. Peconic or pehik-konuk was a locality 
limited in extent, a village of the Indians {Col. 
Hist., N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 600). Paucamp, an old 
Indian, said in 1667: "that the place had been an 
ancient seat of sachemship time out of mind" 
(S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 2). Another testified: 
"that there had been a small plantation of Indi- 
ans there, but they being few were driven off" 
(E. H. R., vol. i., p. 260). The exact spot to 
which the name belonged is certainly difficult 
to locate. I have suggested it may have been 
"Indian Island" or the village site discovered 
at Aquebouge in 1879, but Ogden's bounds went 
westward of that place to Peheconnacke. How- 
ever, the Indian name is the parallel of the Massa- 
chusetts (Cotton) peuk-komuk, or peakomuk, 
"little house," from pedsik, "small," "little," 
and komuk or komik, "a place inclosed," "a 
field," "a house," etc. Cotton uses both forms 
peuk komuk and peakomuk, as does Ogden in his 
release to Southampton, 1667 (S. H. R., vol, i., 
p. 163). Eliot uses komuk for "field," "place," 
"house," "temple," etc. (also plural for "fields"). 
Therefore Peconic might be translated as a "small 
plantation" as stated in James's testimony in 1657. 

299. Pehik-konuk: see Pecomc. 

300. Penataquit: a former name of Bay 



On Long Island 189 

Shore, Islip town, taken from the creek at that 
place. In the Indian deed for Aweeksa Neck to 
John Mowbray, May 30, 1701, the bounds were: 
"Northward from the heads of Cagaqunk and 
Penataquitt Rivers to the bounds between the 
North and South Indians." Thompson gives 
the name to the neck. The name appears also 
as Penettiquott, 1720; later Panothticutt. Our 
Penatuckqut is susceptible of two significations. 
It may be derived from pena (Narragansett penayi) , 
"crooked"; -tukq, "a tidal river," "a creek"; 
-ut, " at " ; = Pena-tukq-iit, "at the crooked creek " ; 
or Petia-tugk-qut, "at the crooked tree." The 
early forms favor the latter and the "crooked 
tree" may have served as a bound-mark, as did 
the maple tree at the head of the other river. See 
Cagoqunk. 

301. Pequanet: a neck of land at Orient, 
L. I. Mentioned in a letter of John Tuthill 
dated 1.8. 1660 as the ''Pequanet further neck." 
Probably a variant of Poqimtuck (q. v.). 

302. Pequash: a neck of land at Cutchogue, 
Southold town, now known as Goldsmith's Neck. 
One of the "first necks in Corchaug bounds." 
The name is found on record as early as 1658, 
viz.: "old bounds of Southold that is to saye, 
from Tom's creek east to Puckqimshinecke 
west" (S. H. R., vol. i., p. no). Variations are 



190 Indian Place-Names 

Puckquash, 1661; Pequash, 1662; Poquash, 1669. 
The word is sometimes abbreviated to "Quasha." 
It signifies "open land," from a word correspond- 
ing to the Massachusetts pohquashinne (EHot), 
which, as descriptive of a tract of land or field, 
means ''open level ground. " According to Trum- 
bull, "the Indian planting lands were either 
patcque-auke, land naturally 'clear,' 'open,' or 
pauq'uun-auke, 'land made clear,' 'a clearing'; 
after it had been once planted or dug over, it 
was called pauquettahun-auke, 'land opened,' or 
'broken up', " 

303 . Pes APUNCK : a neck of land at Cutchogue , 
Southold town. "This large neck of land, always 
considered one of the choice farms of the town, 
lies midway between Corchaug and Mattituck, 
having for its western boundary from the 'Manor 
Hiir for a distance of half a mile or more the main 
road; and the waters of Peconic Bay, and the 
creek between Fort Neck and Reeves' Neck 
forming its other boundaries. The neck is 
owned by John Wells, the 7th in line of descent 
from Wm. Wells, the first settler at Southold" 
(J. W. C, Note, S. R., vol. i., p. 272). First 
recorded in 1654, viz.: "The meadow of Master 
John Booth commonly called the Pissapunke 
meadow"; again, 1658: "a peice of meadow at 
the Pissapunck — half of which is Mastr boothes" 
(S. R.). Variations are: Pessepunk, i6'j6',Pesa- 



On. Long' Island 191 

punch, 1677; Pisapunke, iSyg; Pieceaptmck, 1686. 
It is the same as the Narragansett Pesuponck, 
"hot house," one probably being located in the 
neck opposite the palisadoed village of the Indians 
at "Fort Neck" mentioned above. The "hot 
house" is thus described by Roger Williams: 
"This Hot-house is a kind of a little cell or cave 
six or eight foot over, round, made on the side of 
a hill (commonly by some Rivulet or Brooke) ; 
into this frequently the men enter after they have 
exceedingly heated it with store of wood, laid upon 
an heape of stones in the middle ; when they have 
taken out the fire, the stones still keepe a great 
heate; Ten, twelve, twenty more or less enter at 
once Starke naked, leaving their Coats, small 
breeches (or aprons), at the doore, with one to 
keep all; here they sit round these hot stones an 
houre or more, taking tobaco, discoursing and 
sweating together, which sweating they use 
for two ends : First to dense their skin, secondly to 
purge their bodies, which doubtlesse is a great 
means of preserving them and recovering them 
from diseases — when they come forth (which is 
a matter of admiration) I have seen them runne 
(summer and winter) into Brookes to coole them 
without the least hurt" {Key to the Language 
in America, 1643). 

304. PocHOUG: neck in Brookhaven town. 
This name corresponds to the Massachusetts 



192 Indian Place-Names 

Pohshdog (Eliot), "where they divide in two," 
"turn aside," "turning place," etc. See Pa- 
tchogue. 

305. PoMiCHEs: a creek at East Moriches, 
Brookhaven town. "In 1677, the Indian John 
Mahew sold a neck called Watchauge, bounded 
on the east by a small brook called Mattuck, and 
on the west by a creek called Pomiches, the head 
of which, once a marsh is now a valley which 
crosses the main village street, Munsell's Hist. 
S. C. (Brookhaven, p. 28). Some early deeds give 
Pameeches, or Pamachees Pond; Permichees 
Swamp, 1773. This word seems to denote "a 
crossing, " or something that comes from "aside, " 
"athwart a path" (cf. Massachusetts pum- 
mecke, "crossing"; Delaware pemitschi, "from 
the side, " or "athwart"; pemitschecheu, "a cross- 
way"). The creek probably crossed the Indian 
path, or else it may be named from the fact 
that the path crossed the creek. The swamp was 
located at the head of the creek. 

306. PoMMANOCC : see Paumanack. 

307. PoNQUOGUE: a neck of land on Shinne- 
cock Bay, Southampton town. Ponquogue light- 
house is located on this neck. The locality is 
not referred to in the records of the town until 
1738, when it appears as follows: "And then 



On Long Island 193 

we proceeded to Rampasture in Poganguogue 
and laid out an highway^ — from the head of the 
long cove, Running directly across Poganqiwgue 
Neck" (S. H. R., vol. iii., p. lOo). Variants are: 
Pauganquogue, 1742; Pogenquake, 1743; Paugan- 
quog, 1750; Paugunquag, 1775; Pagonquag, 1825; 
modernly Ponquogue. De Kay has also Bondy- 
quogue. Dr. John G. Shea gave W. S. Pelletreau 
as its meaning "the pond at the place where 
the bay bends," holding that it was derived from 
an original Pauganquaquanantuck. There is noth- 
ing in the etymology of the word to warrant this 
meaning, nor does it appear to have been derived 
from quaquanantuck, a meadow some miles to the 
west. Paug = pe-auke, ' ' water-place, " " pond, ' ' is 
an inseparable generic and used only at the end of 
a compound word; consequently the prefix paug 
cannot here mean a "pond." I have suggested 
its derivation from pauqu'un-auke, "cleared land, " 
"land made clear" {Brooklyn Eagle Almanac, 
1888, 1889, 1890). This I now believe to be the 
true derivation, the name being one of the many 
forms applied by the Indians to "land either 
clear or made clear." 

308. PoosEPATUCK: a locality on the north- 
east part of Mastic Neck, where a small creek 
empties into Forge River. The neck is now the 
home of a small remnant of the tribe known as the 
Unkechaugs. On July 2, 1700, Wm. Smith 



194 Indian Place-Names 

gave the following deed: — "Bee it knowe to all 
men that the intent sayd Indien, there children 
and posterryte may not want suffisient land to 
plant on, forever, that I do hereby grant for mee, 
my heires and assigns forever that Wisquosuck 
Jose, Wionco7iow, Pataquam, Stephen Weramps, 
Penaws, Tapshana, Wepsha, Tucome and Jacob, 
Indian natives of Unquachock, etc. — one hundred 
akers in Mastic Neck fifty acres at pospatou. 
ffifty acres at Constbles Neck, and ten acres 
at qualican'' (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 91). Variants 
are: PusspaHuck, 1794; Pusspa'tok, lyg^; Poospa- 
tuc, 1845 ; Poospatuck, 1888. In the Brooklyn Eagle 
Almanac for 1888, 1889, I gave the meaning as 
"little river falls," or where "a little river falls 
nto tide water." A better etymology would be 
"union of two rivers and a fall into tide water," 
or where "a cove or creek bursts forth, flows out." 
The prefix poosepa- or pusspa'- is the equivalent 
of the Narragansett paspisha, "he rises"; Massa- 
chusetts pashpishau (Eliot), "he arises," "bursts 
forth," "blooms (as a flower)," etc.; -tuk, "tidal 
river or creek." Compare Paspahegh in Virgin- 
ia: "the mouth of this river [Chickahominy] 
falleth into the great river [the James] at Pas- 
pahegh, 8 miles above oiu- fort" (John Smith's 
Trtie Relation, 1608, p. 11). Also Paspeshauks 
in Connecticut: "forte called Saybrook als Pash- 
peshauks at the mouth of the River Kennecticut" 
(Gardiner's Island Deed, 1639); Pashpesh-auk, 



On Long Island 195 

"land at the bursting forth," "uniting of the 
river with the sound." Similar names occur 
also in Rhode Island. 

309. Poquatuck: mentioned by the various 
histories of Long Island as being the Indian name 
of Orient Point, Southold town. It does not 
appear on the town records. It may have be- 
longed to the cove, now called Long Beach Bay, 
being an open, wide, body of water. The name 
is derived from poqua-, "clear," "open"; -tuck, 
' ' tidal river, " " cove, " or " creek. ' ' See Paqua- 
tuck. 

310. PoQUOTT : Dyer's Neck, between Setauket 
and Port Jefferson, Brookhaven town. It is tra- 
ditional and is not found in the records, but is 
mentioned by Thompson and others. The name 
denotes "clear land," "open country"; pauqu'- 
auk-ut, "at the land naturally clear or open." 
Pequawket and Pigwacket, Fryeburg, Me., are 
forms of the same name. See Pequash. 

311. PoRiGiES : a small neck of land at Mastic, 
Brookhaven town, situated on the west side of 
Snake Neck at the Woodhull farm. So-called 
from the Indian who two hundred years ago made 
his home there. Porridge's Neck. We find in 
the Indian deed for Yamphank Neck, 1688, 



196 Indian Place-Names 

"Wopehege allis porridg. "In the Indian deed 
of 1690 for roads that crossed this neck, to Richard 
Woodhull, it appears as ''Waphege'' only (H. B. R., 
vol. i., pp. 70-75). Probably the Indian was so- 
called on account of his fondness for that old 
dish, samp- porridge. The word would thus be 
not of Indian origin linguistically. 

312. PoTiNACK: a hole or deep depression on 
Montauk about a mile west of the "Hither Plain" 
U. S. Life-Saving Station, in close proximity 
to the cliffs, sometimes filled with water. Bearing 
the same name are two other holes : (a) Potinack 
hole, short distance north of the above in the 
woods, a flaggy hole, (b) Potinack hole, a watering 
place at the junction of four farms at Amagansett. 
In the East Hampton Records (vol. iv., 1889) I 
translated this name as "where the land sinks," 
that is "gutting in," making it correspond to the 
Massachusetts pmtoae, with the locative -ack, 
"land," and related to Potunk. I may be in 
error as regards this derivation, and it may 
simply be one of the many forms of Appuhqui- 
auke. See Appaquogue and Potunk. 

313. Potunk: a neck of land and meadows at 
West Hampton. In the Indian deed to John 
Ogden, May 12, 1659, the bounds were: "North- 
ward to water of the bay and to the creek of 
Accaboucke, westward to the place called Pehecan- 



On Long Island 197 

nache, and southerly to Potunckes" (S. H. R., 
vol. i., p. 162; E, H. R., vol. i., p. 156). Variations 
are: Potimck; meadow at Potunk, 1683; meadow 
at Potonke, 1686; Pottmk, 1696. The name is 
related to the Chippewa petobeg, "a bog" ; Abnaki 
poteba", "to sink in the mire." Trumbull gives 
Potonke, "a place where the foot sinks," "a boggy 
place." Podunk, the Indian name of a tract of 
meadow adjoining Quabaug Pond in Brookfield 
(Worcester Co.), Mass., seems to be the same 
word. The components are: pot-, "to sink," 
-link, locative, 

314. PoxABOG: a farming district, and a pond 
at Bridgehampton. It is first found on record 
in the laying out of the South Division of South- 
ampton in 1712, viz.: "Runs into a litel slade 
for water ner paugasaboug — Then we went east- 
ward of paugaseboug by East Hampton path" 
(S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 162). Variants are: Pougoso- 
boug, 1726; Pogaseboge, 1724; Poxabogne, 1763; 
modernly Poxabog. W. S. Pelletreau, Esq., in the 
Town Records, gives the meaning as a "bathing 
place." This is incorrect, as it does not describe 
the pond ; beside the suffix -baug is a frequenta- 
tive for the inseparable generic pe-auke, "water- 
place," "a pond." The first part is paugasa 
(Trumbull), "to open out," or "to widen," 
"spread out." Paugasa-baug, thus means "a 
pond that opens out," or "widens," which this 



198 Indian Place-Names 

pond frequently does. In dry seasons, it contains 
a very little water, but in wet seasons I have seen 
it very full, flowing out through its outlet into 
Sagg Swamp and Pond, across the Easthampton 
road. 

315. PoYHAS: a swamp within Hashamomuk 
bounds, Southold town. Mentioned in the deed 
of 1660, as having been reserved at a previous 
sale, viz.: "they the said Indians reserving out 
of the said neck to themselves two swamps, one 
called Poyhas, the other Weakewanopp" (S. R., 
vol. i., p. 209). It was reserved for the use of 
Poyhas, an Indian who lived and planted there, 
and was one of the "five wigwams" referred to in 
the Jackson deed of 1640. 

316. Pumcatawe: a tract of land in Brook- 
haven town. Recorded in the Fletcher patent for 
the Manor of St. George, 1693, viz. : " also two small 
tracts of land and meadow, lying east of Mastic 
River called Pumcatawe and Hoggs Necke" 
(Thompson, vol. ii.). In the Graham survey, 
Sept. 19, 1693: Puncatane or Puncataue, Puenca- 
tame, Punecatone. The name is that of an Indian 
who formerly lived on the land. A Montauk 
Indian had a name very similar, viz.: Pokkatone, 
varied as Poquatone. 

317. PuNG-PLUES : a small creek in Brookhaven 
town, at Moriches. Mentioned in the Indian 



On Long Island 199 

deed of 1681, for a neck of land and meadow, 
v/ith a little island at the south end, viz.: "being 
the second smal neck from Setuck, bounded 
on the est by Watchauge, on the south by the 
bay, on the west by a small creek, pung-plues; 
on the north a miele up in the woods" (B. H. R., 
vol. i., p. 51). It was probably called Fung-pine's 
neck, from the Indian who lived there. 

318. Punk's Hole: a name formerly applied 
to the village now known as Manor, Riverhead 
town, or to a locality near that hamlet. Punk 
was a name given by the Indians to a fungous 
growth found on old oak trees and stumps, and 
used by them for fuel (cf. Delaware punk, 
"ashes," "dust," "tinder," "gunpowder," etc.). 
The traditional origin of Punk's Hole is that an 
early settler became lost in. the woods, and was able 
to locate himself only by these growths on some 
old trees in a hollow. On being asked where he 
had been, he replied, "At Punk's Hole." See 
the account of pmik in the ^^ Handbook of Ameri- 
can Indians North of Mexico (vol. ii., 1910, p. 
238). 

319. QuACONSUCK: an abbreviated form of 
Pauquacumsuck (q. v.). "In 1660, Capt. John 
Scott conveyed to Thomas Hutchinson (late of 
Lynn, Mass.), a tract of land, lying from South- 
ampton westward 30 miles, at a wading river 



200 Indian Place-Names 

called by the Indians Quaconsuck'' (Thompson, 
vol. ii., p. 320). 

320. QuADAMS: hill in the Indian field, near 
the Oyster Pond, Montauk. From the mark of 
the possessive case, it was probably so-called from 
some Indian who resided in the "Field. " 

321. QuAGGA: Indian trail or path in the 
western part of Southampton town at Atlantic- 
ville. Mentioned in 1656: "4th neck begins at a 
marked tree a little below quo go path," and in 
1 7S^ • ' ' which fence is within a few pole of Quagga 
path" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 114; vol. iii., p. 119). 
This trail or path crossed all the necks in this 
section. The whites called it quagga or quago 
path because it led to Quaquanantuck Neck at 
the meadows. See Quaquanantuck. 

322. Quago : a ditch in the western part of 
Southampton town. Mentioned in a survey 
of meadow land, 1712, viz.: "and ye Island of 
sedg in the west end of Quago Ditch and ye medow 
upon ye beach from ye west end of Quago ditch ' ' 
(S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 159). It is the ditch that 
connects Shinnecock Bay with the Great South 
Bay, through the Quaquanantuck meadows, men- 
tioned previously in 1675, viz.: "so running 
thence round by the bay to the ditch ye towne 
digged" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 253). This is 



On Long Island 201 

another abbreviation of Quaquanantuck. See 
Quagga, Quaquanantuck. 

323. QuALicAN: a locality on Mastic Neck, 
Brookhaven town. Mentioned in Wm. Smith's 
deed to Indians at Pusspatok in 1700, viz.: 
"and ten akers at Qualican" (B. H, R., vol. i., 
p. 91). This name is perhaps the equivalent 
of the Delaware qsahican, "to measure" {qsahi 
"measure it"); Chippewa dibaigan, "measure." 
So-called because it was land "measured" or "laid 
out" for the Indians' use. 

324. Quamuck: a place on the Great South 
beach opposite Atlanticville, Southampton town. 
It was at one time an inlet from the ocean some- 
times known as the "old inlet," but now closed 
for many years. An old resident of Moriches, 
Alexander Ryder, aged 85 in 1889, gives the 
information, that "a large and extensive flat 
formed where the water rushed in and out; on 
this fiat they formerly drew their nets for the 
small fish locally known as 'mummies,' used as 
bait for eel-pots, etc." This word is apparently 
an abbreviation of some such term as Enaugh- 
quamuck (q. v.). 

325. Quanch: an island in the Great South 
Bay opposite Bellport, Brookhaven town. The 
earliest record is in 1773, viz.: "Place ye west 



202 Indian Place-Names 

end of a slip of meadow between Quanch and 
whale house poynt" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 192). 

326. QuANDOEQUAREOUS : west branch of New- 
town Creek, Queen's Co. So-named in the deed 
of July 13, 1666: "from thence running upon the 
line westward by the south side of the hills, till 
it meet with the south line which is extended from 
the west branch of Mespat kills called Quandoe- 
quareous" (Riker's Annals of Newtown, p. y2). 
Variants are: Quandus Quaricus (Book of Deeds, 
vol. ii., p. 135, Office of Sec'y of State, Albany, 
N. Y.), Quandus Quaricus (Furman's Antiq. 
ofL.I.,p. 181). 

327. Quantuck: bay and creek at Quogue 
in western Southampton town. It is first re- 
ferred to in the laying of Qiiaquantuck Neck in 
1673, viz.: "Assops Neck from Quantuck bay 
on the west side to the little rivulet commonly 
called Cuttings creek" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 253). 
Gov. Andros, in 1676, gave John Cooper permis- 
sion to make fishing- weirs in two creeks or rivers ; 
"one being called Meacocks (the bay) and the 
other Quaquantuck" {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., 
p. 727). Variants are: Quantuck Creek, 1687; 
Quantuck, 1682, etc. Quantuck is probably an 
abbreviation of Quaquanantuck. If not, it might 
be translated "long tidal stream," from quan- 



On Long Island 203 

(Massachusetts qunni), "long"; -tuck, "tidal 
stream," "creek," See Quaquanantiick. 

328. Quanuntowunk: northern part of Fort 
Pond, Montauk, East Hampton town. The 
Montauk Indian deed of 1661 to the inhabitants 
of East Hampton gives the following: "All the 
peice or neck of land, belonging to Muntaukut 
land westward to a fresh pond in a beach, on this 
side westward to the place where the old Indian 
fort stood, on the other side eastward to the new 
fort that is yet standing, the name of the pond 
being Quanuntowunk on the north and Konhun- 
gajiik on the south" (Hedges's Address, 1849, 
Appendix, p. 83). It appears also as Quaunonto- 
wounk (Ranger's Deeds of Montauk, 1850) and 
is varied as Quamtontowock, Quannotowounk, 
Quanotowonk. Owing to a mistake made by the 
late David Gardiner in his Chronicles of East 
Hampton and quoted by nearly every historian 
since, this name has been applied to the "Fresh 
Pond" in the "Hither Woods," when it really 
belonged to "Fort Pond" ("Muntaukut land 
westward to a fresh pond in a beach"). This 
quotation means all the land on the western end 
of Montauk to a fresh pond as its eastern bound- 
ary. The deed was written and executed at West 
Hampton, the Indians being there under protec- 
tion of the English, in order to escape the Narra- 
gansetts, as set forth in the deed: "On this side 



204 Indian Place-Names 

westward (East Hampton side) to where the old 
Indian fort stood" (on the west side of Nominick 
Hills at Neapeague). This takes in the whole 
of "Fresh Pond" and goes nearly a mile further 
west (see Sale of Montauk and Map, 1879): 
"On the other side eastward to where the new 
fort is yet standing" (on Fort Hill overlooking 
Fresh Pond). The "fresh pond in a beach" 
describes "Fort Pond," the other being in the 
woods and surrounded by hills. The name of 
the pond (only one being mentioned) is Qtianun- 
towunk on the north and Konhunganick on the 
south. This proves that both names belong to 
Fort Pond. In the East Hampton Records (1889, 
vol. iv.) I suggested a meaning that seemed to be 
correct by etymology and with reference to the 
location to which it was applied, viz.: quanon, 
"long"; "towunk," a ford, " wading-place, " refer- 
ring to the outlet of the pond through which the 
Indians dragged their canoes. I had previously 
given an interpretatio 1 in the Brooklyn Eagle 
Almanac for 1889, as "where there was a fence." 
This I now consider more correct than the other, 
for close study of the deed and of Eliot's Indian 
Bible has convinced me that it is the parallel of the 
Massachusetts (Eliot) quaneuntunk, "a division," 
"turning-place," "a fence." This is used by Eliot 
sometimes with a prefix as in qiissuk-quaneuntun- 
kanit ( Jer. xxxix. , 4, " a wall ' ' ; literally ' ' at the place 
of the stone division"). Quanuntowunk was the 



On Lon^ Island 205 

"fence" that divided or separated the beach on the 
northern part of the pond, and is referred to in 
the deed, viz.: "know ye allso yt for ye securing 
of ye Easterne parte of Montaukut Land, which 
ye Indians are to hve upon, yt the Inhabitants 
of ye aforesaid East Hampton shall from time 
to time, keep up a sufficient fence upon ye North 
side of ye foresaid pond, and the Indians are to 
secure ye South side of ye foresaid pond, from 
all cattle, During ye time their corn is upon the 
ground." Thus Quanuntowunk was the "fence" 
on the north; Kotikhonganik the "fence" on the 
south. The original deed has the name Quaun- 
nontowounk. 

329. QuAQUA. See Quogue. 

330- QuAQUANANTUCK : a locality in the west- 
ern part of Southampton town. First found on 
record at a town meeting of 1651, when: "the 
inhabitants agree to give Richard Odell tenn 
pounds in good merchantable wampum for gratu- 
ity of resigning up his title of land at Quagan- 
antuck" ; again in 1652: "the said attempt to 
regain Shinnecock meddow shall bee by cutting 
a trench between Shinnecock water [the bay] and 
Qua guanantuck water'' (S. H. R.,vol. i.,pp. 79, 88). 
Variations are on record: Quaquanantuck meddow, 
1652; "Thos. Halsey shall have the priviledge of 
the medow called Quaquantuck,'' 1659; Quaquanan- 



2o6 Indian Place-Names 

tick, 1662; Qiiaquanantuck, 1663; Quaqquanantuck, 
1665; Quagquantick, 1665; Qiiagwanaiituck, 1666; 
Quaqiieiiantack, 1667; Qimquantuck, 1676. It was 
called in the early days of the town the "Qua- 
quanantuck purchase," and for short, at varied 
periods, was known as the Quaqiia, Quago, Quogo, 
Quagga, Quag, and lastly as the Qiwgue purchase 
(S, H. R., vol. i., ii., iii). Dr. John G. Shea, in 
a communication to Wm. S. Pelletreau, Esq., 
gave the meaning as the "place where the bay 
bends." This cannot be the meaning in the 
sense as given, although it might bend under fool . 
The name is derived from the Massachusetlj 
(Eliot) equivalent of quequan, "to quake," "to 
tremble"; quequanne (Trumbull), "a shaking 
marsh"; -tuk or -tuck, the inseparable generic 
name for "river" or "stream," denoting water 
in motion (the verb tukkd) was nearly equivalent 
to the Latin fluctuatur, Trumbull). Thus Qua- 
quamie-tuck signifies "a cove or estuary where it 
quakes or trembles," being descriptive of the 
extensive meadows that border the waters now 
known as Quantuck Bay (Quequaneht-auke, "where 
the land shakes or trembles"). See Quantuck. 

331. QuARAPiN: a round swamp in Hunting- 
ton. The name refers to "where Quarapin, an 
Indian, formerly planted" (H. R., vol. ii., p. 2>7)' 

332. QuASHA. See Pequash. 



On Long Island 207 

333- QuGGALUNE: a locality in the western 
part of Southampton town, mentioned in the 
laying out of the north division of the Quaquanan- 
tuck purchase in 1738, viz.: "and then a highway 
of four pole wide — the east side of Assoops Neck 
then a high way of eight pole wide from thence to 
Quggalune, and then a highway gust at the going 
over of the creek or head of the Swamp" (S. H. 
R., vol. iii.,p. 117). Derivation uncertain. 

334- QuiNTE: a creek in the town of Islip. 

335- Quiogue: a neck of land between A spa- 
tuck and Quantuck creeks in the western part of 
Southampton town, formerly known as "Little 
Assop's Neck." This is another derivation from 
Qiiaqimnantuck. Land and meadows at Quiogue 
are mentioned in 1753 (S. H. R., vol. iii., p. 162). 
See Quaquanantuck. 

336. QuocHAGUE: "June 19, 1787, Henry 
Wells deposeth and saith that the fence at a 
place called the Little Neck in Quochague stands 
where it did forty years ago" (S. H. R., vol. ii., 
p. 514). See Cutchogue. 

337- Quogue: a village in the western part of 
Southampton town on Quantuck Bay. The tract 
of salt meadows and land in this section was known 
as the Quaquanantuck purchase, and for short, 



2o8 Indian Place-Names 

was called by abbreviated forms of the longer name : 
Quago, 1738; Quoag, 1742; Quagga, 1742; Quag, 
1742; Quogue, 1742, and afterwards. Both Geo. 
R. Howell, A.M., and Wm. Pelletreau, the two 
Southampton historians, derive in the same way, 
Furman (Antiq. of L. I.) and E. B. O'Callaghan 
{Hist. Mag. of Amer., vol. ii., p. 149) derive it 
from qiwhaug (Narragansett poquohaug), "the 
round clam." Neither had access to the records 
of the town to show its early origin, which accounts 
for their error. See Qiiaquanantuck. 

338. QuoNETTQUOTT : a locality mentioned 
in the records of East Hampton town. May 19, 
1690, viz.: "John and Margaret Robinson of 
Combury in the bounds of Flushing, Queen's Co., 
do appoint our friend Andrew Gibb of Quonett- 
quott in ye County of Suffolk, our atturney to col- 
lect sums of money due for rent of a dwelling 
house in the town of East Hampton" (vol. ii., 
p. 253). Andrew Gibb was a prominent man at 
that period and Quonettqiwtt was probably the 
West Connecticut River known as Connetqiwt 
brook in Islip, although he owned land near 
both streams. Quonne-tukq-ut signifies "at the 
long river," from quonne, "long"; -tukq, "tidal 
river"; -ut, "at." See Connecticut. 

339- QuoRlAC: a locality in the town of Baby- 
lon. Mentioned in the will of Jonas Wood, 1688, 



On Lon^ Island 209 

who leaves his son Jonas "four acres of Meadow 
either at Quoriack or at TafttamtmtataukeL" 
Jonas Wood, St., having been one of the original 
purchasers of the meadow and afterwards of the 
upland on Guscomquorom. Of the latter I am 
inclined to regard Quoriac as an abbreviation. 
See Guscomquorom. 

340. Rapahamuck: a neck of land in the 
western part of Southampton town, near Flanders. 
Mentioned in the allotment of the Aquebaug 
meadows in 1686, as follows: "And goes on both 
sides the Birch Creek to a marked tree in Rapaha- 
muck neck, soe the lots increase downe the neck 
to Rapahamuck point, — the Island by Rapaha- 
muck is number 33" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 117). 
Nath. Halsey's will, March 7, 1745 (Pelletreau's 
Abstracts) mentions "one lot of meadow at the 
bottom of Jumping neck called Rapahannock.'' 
Birch Creek mentioned above was called at an 
earlier date Suggamuck, "the bass fishing-place." 
Rapahamuck neck is at the mouth of this creek. 
The R, as given in the English notations was not 
sounded by the Indians according to Eliot, Hecke- 
welder, and others, and it does not appear in any 
of their works. Therefore I consider rapah to 
correspond to the Massachusetts and Narragan- 
sett appeh, " a snare, " "a trap." The other com- 
ponent is the locative -amuck, "a fishing-place." 

Rapahamuck signifies, therefore, "a trap fishing- 
14 



2IO Indian Place-Nanxes 

place"; and this may have been a weir erected 
by the Indians, or a net placed across the mouth 
of Suggamuck in the manner mentioned by Wood, 
viz.: "when they use to tide it in and out to the 
Rivers and Creeks, the English at the top of an 
high water do croffe the creeks with long seanes or 
Baffe Nette, which stop in the fifh; and the water 
ebbing from them they are left on the dr}^ ground, 
sometimes two or three thousand at a set" 
(N. E. Prospect, 1634, P- 3^)- 

341. Rassapeague: "a peninsula, containing 
two or three fine farms, and terminating on the 
east, near the entrance to Stony Brook Harbor" 
(Thompson, vol. i., p. 459). On Nov. 10, 1658: 
"The Indians sell land lying betweene Seatalk 
Bounds and Nesaquak River and a swampe 
called Rasapeagiie on the west side" (Book of 
Deeds, vol. ii., p. 90, Office of the Sec'y of State 
Albany, N. Y.). In probably January, 1687, 
Andrew Gibb petitions for "a patent for two small 
islands of creeke thatch meadow in the Rassa- 
peague Bay, the first being the second island from 
the harbor mouth to the northwestward of Stony 
Brook, and the other next adjacent" (Cal. of 
Land Papers in the Office of the Sec'y of State, 
p. 44). Rassapeague, the swamp or meadow, 
signifies: "a muddy or miry water place or cove. " 
The components of the word are rassa-, the 
equivalent of the Delaware assiska, "muddy" or 



On Long Island 211 

"miry"; -pe-auke, "a water-place," "a eove. " 
Compare Rassaweak, mentioned by Capt. John 
Smith {Gen. Hist, of Virginia, 1624, Book iii., 
p. 86); "I am not now at Rassaweak half drowned 
with myre, where you took me prisoner." 

342. Rechouwhacky: see Rockaway. 

343. Rechtank: Corlear's Hook, Manhattan 
Island, New York (De Kay); also Nechtank 
(De Kay). Schoolcraft says: "Corlear's Hook 
was called Naghtognk. The particle -tonk here 
denotes sand." The Dutch notation is Nechtauk, 
or Nechtank. See Naghtognk. 

344. Rechtga WANES : "A point on East River 
near Hell Gate" (De Kay). 

345. Reckkewick. See Marechkawick. 

346. RiNNEGACKONCK : a tract of land at the 
Wallabout, City of Brooklyn, King's Co. It is 
first noted in the Indian deed dated June 16, 1637, 
"when Kakapetteyno, Pewichaas, owners of the 
district transferred to George Rapaljie a cer- 
tain peice of land, called Rinnegackonck, situate 
on Long Island — reaching from a kil to the 
woods south and east to a certain copse where 
the water runs over the stones." Variations are: 
Rinnegachonk, 1638; Rinnegaconck, 1638; Renneg- 



212 Indian Place-Names 

konc, 1 641; Rinngackonck, 1651 {Col. Hist. N. Y., 
vol. xiv., p. 3, <?/ seq.). Rinnegackonck ( = Winneg- 
ack-onck) signifies "on the pleasant land" (Massa- 
chusetts Wu7inegenayeimk, Cotton, "a delightful 
place)." The components of the word are rinneg 
( = winneg, corresponding to Massachusetts winne 
or wunne), "pleasant"; -ack {-auke), "land"; 
-onck, locative, "at." See Algonguimi Series, 
vol. ii., pp. 21-29 for a further discussion of the 
word Rinnegackonck. 

347. Roanoke: a point of land on the north 
shore of the Island in Riverhead town. This is 
probably not a Long Island Indian name, but one 
adopted from the island and river Roanoke in 
North Carolina, of which Trumbull says: "The 
name of the island and the river Roanoke appears 
to have been taken from 'Roenoke' or 'Rawrenock' 
(as Captain John Smith wrote it), the common 
shell-money of the Indians corresponding to the 
white {'wompom') 'peag' of the northern tribes. 
Beverly describes this sort of 'peag' as 'made of 
the cockle-shells, broken into small bits, with 
rough edges drilled through in the same manner 
as beads.' Its name was given to the island for the 
same reason, probably, that the Indians of New 
Netherland and part of New England called Long 
Island 'Sewan-hacky,' because it supplied the 
material for the manufacture of 'sewan' or 'bead- 
money' " {Hist. Mag., vol. i., 1870, p. 47). See 



On Long Island 213 

discussion of Roanoke in the Handbook of American 
Indians North of Mexico (vol. ii., 1910, pp. 392, 
393). 

348. RocKAWAY: name now applied to several 
localities in the southern part of Hempstead town. 
It originally designated either the long neck of 
land now known as Rockaway Beach, or the 
principal place of residence of the Rockaway 
tribe on this neck. This name appears first on 
record in the Indian deed of 1639: " Mechowodt 
the chief Sachem of Massapeague and its depend- 
ances, who conveys all his patrimonial lands 
on the southside of Long Island from Rechouw- 
hacky to Sicketauwhacky " (Col. Hist. N. Y., 
vol. xvi., p. 15). The first conveyance to the Eng- 
lish in 1643 mentions it thus: — "Wee of Masepege, 
Merriack or Rockaway'' {Col. Hist. N. F., vol. 
xiv., p. 530). De Vries, in 1643, writes: "At 
evening we arrived at Rechqua Akie, where we 
found the chief, who had one eye, with two or 
three hundred Indians and about thirty houses. 
They led us into his house and treated us as to 
what they had as oysters and fish which they 
catch there" (Col. N. Y. Hist. Soc, 2d series, 
vol. ii., pp. I, 117). Variations are: Reckonhacky, 
1645 ; Rockeway, 1655 ! Rackeaway, 1662. "In 1685, 
Pamas, the Sagamore and others, sell Rockaway 
Neck extending from west bounds of Hempstead to 
Rockaway IvXeV (Thompson, vol. ii., p. 17). The 



214 Indian Place-Names 

name Rockaway has been variously interpreted, 
among the significations suggested being such a 
romantic one as "our place of laughing waters. " 
The form of the word cited by De Vries, Rechqua 
Akie, may very well signify "sandy land or 
country," from rechqua ( = Delaware lekau; Chip- 
pewa nequa), "sand"; -akie, "place." Another 
etymology worth considering makes the name the 
equivalent of the Delaware Nechoha-hacky, "the 
lonely place" (nechoha, "alone"; -hacky, "place"). 
The name "sandy place" would fully describe 
the neck of land to which it belongs. 

349. RoNKONKOMA : a large lake in the central 
part of Long Island, on the bounds between the 
towns of Brookhaven, Islip, and Smithtown. 
Also applied to a post-office village in Islip town. 
The first record now to be found of this name is 
in the Indian deed of Smithtown, 1664, viz.: 
"Bounds which they had formerly made into 
Raconkumake a fresh pond aboute the midl of 
Long Island" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 9). Nicoll's 
Patent, 1665, has: "Bearing southward to a 
certaine ffresh Pond called Raconkamuck. " Varia- 
tions beside the above are: Raconckamich, 1675; 
Raconchony, 1697; Rockconcomuck, 1725; Roncon- 
camuck, lysS'y Ronconhama, 181 y; modernly i?6>7z- 
konkoma and Ronkonkama. The meaning given 
by various histories of Long Island, viz.: "white 
sand pond" is incorrect. A very poetical signi- 



On Long Island 215 

fication has been given by Prof. E. W. Horsford, 
of Cambridge, Mass., viz.: 'Won 'noise of 
flight (as of a bird)'; konk 'wild goose'; -omack 
'inclosed place,' or as a whole, 'the wild goose 
resting place' (in its migrations)." I accepted this 
at one time, and gave it in the Brooklyn Eagle 
Almanac for 1888. In the same Almanac for 1889, 
I interpreted it as "the weir fishing-place," con- 
sidering the name the same as that of a pond in 
Connecticut at the north west corner of Suffield 
(partly in Massachusetts) called Wonococomang, 
now Congamuck. This, Dr. Trumbull suggests, 
is from Wonkunk-amaug, "a fishing place where 
there is a weir or fence" (cf. Massachusetts 
wonkonous, "fence," "fort," "stronghold"; 
Chippewa wakakina, "a fence"). The same 
radical appears in those terms designating a 
boundary place. Taking this as our guide, and 
considering the mention in the early records of 
"the bounds which we formerly made" together 
with the fact that the pond is always referred to 
as a boundary place in the years above given, we 
must look that way for its meaning. Therefore, 
Raconkum, Raconkam, or Ro7ikonkam may be a 
dialectic variation corresponding to the Massa- 
chusetts (Eliot) Kuhkonkan, "a bound." This 
with the locative -amuck, "a fishing-place" give 
us "the boundary fishing-place." If the first 
component is wonkonous, "a fence," it would 
still be "a boundary-place." See Algonguian 



2i6 Indian Place-Names 

Series, vol. vii., pp. 44-48, where the etymology, 
"the fence or boundary fishing-place" is preferred. 

350. Rugs : a neck of land and creek in South- 
ampton town at Noyack. Recorded in laying 
out a highway in 1738: "Highway to hog neck 
spring, another to Jonah Rogers farm, another to 
Rugs stream — and we the said layers out did lay 
out Ruggs neck in four squadrons" (S. H . R., 
vol. iii., p. 94). Rugs stream is the brook now 
known as "Thompson's Trout Ponds" at Noyack. 
This was the name of an Indian residing there. 
Rugg has been perpetuated as an Indian personal 
name down to the present time. One known as 
"Old Rugg'' lived on the west side of Fort Pond 
Bay, Montauk, in a little shanty, until his death a 
few years ago. 

351 . RuGUA : a swamp in the town of Babylon, 
near Copiag Neck. It is found in the Indian 
deed of the "Baiting Place" purchase, 1698, viz.: 
"So running eastward to ye head of Rugua 
Swamp" (H. R.). This is another instance 
where a swamp takes its name from the aboriginal 
dweller on its banks. That swamps were fre- 
quently chosen by the Indians for their dwelling 
places is proven frequently in the early records of 
the town; for instance, a deed of 1698 says: "a 
parcel of land within the bounds of Huntington — 
by a swampe comonly called ye round swamp 



On Long Island 217 

where Quarapin formerly planted" (H. R., vol. ii., 
p. 37). Nearly every swamp in the vicinity of Sag 
Harbor examined by the writer has a shell-heap on 
its northern slopes showing Indian sojourners in 
time past. 

352. Rungcatamy: a tract of land in the town 
of Huntington. It is found on record in the 
Indian deed to Wm. Massey, April 28, 1692: 
"Certain Land on Long Island — called by the 
Indians Rungcatamy — a certain tract or parcell 
of land at Runscatamy aforsd — at Round swamp 
so called and bounded on the north by the country 
road" (H. R., vol. ii., p. 107). This is probably 
the name of the Indian who erected his wigwam 
there, and possibly the same one whose name 
appears on the deed of 1 702 corrupted to Cungemy 
(H. R., vol. ii., p. 28). Quarapin another Indian 
planted at another part of the same swamp. See 
Rugua. 

353. RuscocuNKS: a creek east of Mastic 
Neck, town of Brookhaven: so-named in a deed 
from William Smith to John Wood, dated Dec. 20, 
1693. (Copy by O. B. Ackerly, Esq.) This 
name is of the same derivation as Areshunk of 
which it is a variation. See Areshunk. 

354. RusKATUX: neck of land at Seaford, 
Queen's Co., sometimes known as Seaman's 



2i8 Indian Place-Names 

Neck. "More than 1500 acres lying east of the 
Indian purchase and the Gov. Kieft patent, in- 
cluded all the meadows and uplands of Ruskatux 
Neck" (Munsell's Hist. Queen's Co.). Ruskatux 
corresponds to the Mohegan Muxquataug; Narra- 
gansett, Muskechoge, "rushes," "place of rushes"; 
or Mukkosqut, "meadow," from the same root. 
In Massachusetts a parallel would be Moskeht-auk, 
"grass land," from moskehtu (Eliot), "grass," 
"hay"; -auke, "land." 

355. Sabonack: see Seponack and Seabamuck. 

356. Sachaponock: "large pond in town of 
Brookhaven" (De Kay's Indian Names). Prob- 
ably a mistake for " Sagg pond," at Sagaponack, 
Southampton town, no pond of that name being 
located in Brookhaven. See Sagaponack. 

357. Sachem's Hole: a locality formerly ex- 
isting near the fourth mile stone from Sag Harbor, 
now obliterated by the turnpike to East Hampton, 
where the bearers of the body of the Sachem of 
Shelter Island rested in 1651. See various histo- 
ries of Long Island. 

358. Sachem's House: so designated in 1650, 
as the residence of the Sachem of Shinnecock. 

359. Sachem's Neck: the estate of the late 
Dr. S. B. Nicoll, on Shelter Island, has been 



On Long Island 219 

known from an early period as Sachem's Neck. 
It did not take its name from the local Sachem, as 
supposed by some, but from another of whom we 
have the following record: "Oct. 16, 1675, Am- 
busco late Sachem of South-hold hath liberty to 
remove w'" his family to Shelter Island to abide 
there with Mr. Sylvester's permission but no 
others to be admitted to come on, or to follow 
him, w*out particular leave" {Col. Hist. N. Y., 
vol. xii., p. 703). The word Sachem corresponds 
to Narragansett Sachimau; Delaware Sagkimau; 
Abnaki Sa"gma"; Chippewa Sakima, "he is 
chief. " It is from the same root as the Massa- 
chusetts Sonkghuau, "he prevails over, has the 
mastery of . " See Sagamore. 

360. Sackhickneyah : creek in the northern 
part of Newtown, Queen's Co., near Fish's Point. 
It rises in "Trains meadow" and empties into 
Flushing Bay. Is named in the deed of 1666: 
"certain creek called Sackhickneyah, where Wes- 
sel's mill stood" (Riker's Annals of Newtown, p. 
172). This name seems to have an Iroquoian 
appearance, but for all that it is probably Algon- 
kian, corresponding to the Delaware, schajahik- 
aney, "the shore path," from schajahikan, 
"sea shore"; aney, "road," "path." 

361. Sacut: a pond at Lakeville in North 
Hempstead, Queen's Co. Formerly known as 



220 Indian Place-Nanxes 

Success Pond. It was called by the Indians 
Sacut which by a simple deflection in sound might 
have been changed to Success (Thompson, vol. 
ii., p. 60). "The pond is about 500 rods in circum- 
ference surrounded on all sides by sloping banks 
which are covered by verdure to the water's edge 
and undulate with the adjacent country. It had 
formerly a natural outlet to the northwest through 
which its surplus waters were discharged, it now 
rarely overflows" (Prime's L. I., p. 28). The name 
SacMt signifies, "at the outlet," the components 
being sac ( = sauk) "an outlet of a pond, " "a stream 
flowing out of a pond or lake"; and the locative 
affix -ut, "at," "near," "by," etc. Saco in 
Maine is another form of the word. — The Long 
Island Sacut is the equivalent of the Delaware 
(Brinton and Anthony) sakuwit, "mouth of a 
creek, mouth of a river" (a. f. c). 

362. Sagamore Hill: residence of ex-Presi- 
dent Roosevelt at Oyster Bay. Colonel Roosevelt 
writes me: ^'Sagamore Hill is, in a sense, my 
own bestowal, or, more properly, revival. There 
was an old Indian named, as tradition asserts, 
Mohannis, who lived in the cove here, and who 
was sometimes spoken of as 'Chief or 'Sagamore' 
and among the traditions is that both the cove 
and this high promontory were called sometimes 
'Mohannis Cove' and 'Mohannis Hill,' and some- 
times 'Sagamore Cove' and 'Sagamore Hill.' When 



On Lron^ Island 221 

I was young this was told me by an old Bay-man, 
Jake Valentine. ' ' The term Sagamore is seldom 
used by the Long Island Indians ; when it is used 
it generally proceeds from the mouth of a Montauk 
as follows: " Assawkin the Sagamore of Oyster 
Bay" (Smithtown Rec., p. i6, 1866). Saga- 
more has been corrupted from Abnaki sa"gma'', 
* 'chief," or from the corresponding term seen 
in Passamaquoddy sogmo. See Sachem. 

363. Sagaponack, Sagabonock: a tract of 
land in the eastern part of Southampton town. 
The locality was known for many years as '' Sagg. " 
In 1889 the name of the post-ofhce " Sagg'' was 
changed to Sagaponack. The name was also 
bestowed upon the pond at the south adjoining 
the ocean. A place called ''Sag Swamp" was 
known in 171 2, and was the large one into which 
Poxaboug pond opens. Sag Harbor directly north 
derives its name from the same, having been 
known in its early days as the "Harbor of Sagg, " 
or "Sagg Harbor." The locality is first referred 
to in an order and reward for killing wolves in 
1 65 1, viz.: " Hee the said Robert Merwin have 
notice thereof that he repaire unto the place where 
the sd beaste is slaine, whether at Meacocks or 
Sagaponack or elsewhere" (S. H. R., vol. i., p. 82). 
Variations are: Sagaponack, 1652; "Division of 
land called Sagaponack," 1653; Sackaponock, 
1 661; Saggaponack, 1696; Sagabunmick, 1713; 



222 Indian Place-Names 

Sagahonock, 1735; Sagahonnac, 1750, etc. The 
name was interpreted as '' Saggapenack, 'a place 
where big ground nuts grow,' " by W. S. Pelle- 
treau in 1883. This derivation he obtained from 
Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull, who says: — "Saga- 
honock, in Bridgehampton parish, Southampton, 
has left only the remnant of its name to Sagg 
Pond and Sag Harbor." "The great pond, com- 
monly called Sackaponock' ' is mentioned, 1661, 
in Conn. Col. Records, i, p. 368. "The sagabon 
(Micmac segiibun) is a ground nut or Indian 
potato" (Rand). That is, I suppose, the Apios 
tuber osa. "At a general court (in Southamp- 
ton) held Mch. 6, 1654: It is ordered that noe 
Indians shall digg for ground nuts in the plain, 
or digg in any ground, uppon penalty of sitting 
in the stocks," etc. (Records in Thompson's 
L. I.; Mag. of Amer. Hist., 1878, vol. i., pp. 
386-7). 

The prefix which denotes the species cannot in 
all cases be identified, but the generic name with 
its localizing affix is easily recognizable. Not 
long since, while in conversation with an in- 
telligent Chippewa Indian in regard to this parti- 
cular prefix, he informed me that it denoted a 
species which was "hard or difficult to get out 
of the ground. " While the Massachusetts siogkke 
"hard or difficult" may resemble the Long Island 
•^^^^^ (or sacka) in sound, I am inclined to believe 
he was mistaken, and that the Long Island sagga 



On Long' Island ;223 

is the parallel of the Cree suggee, "thick, close to- 
gether," a derivation that fully describes the 
tubers of the Apios tuberosa, which grow close 
together, strung in clusters on a fibrous root. It 
was probably the same plant discovered by Cap- 
tain Gosnold on one of the Elizabeth isles, on his 
visit to the New England coast in 1602, which 
John Brierton, one of the voyagers, describes as 
"ground nuts as big as egges, as good as Potatoes, 
and 40 on a string, not two ynches vnder ground. " 
See Acabonack, Seponack, and Ketchaponack. 

364. Sagg : see Sagaponack. 

365. Sag Harbor: see Sagaponack. 

366. Saghtekoos: a neck of land in the town 
of Islip, now known as "Appletree Neck." 
"Sept. 26, 1692, Gov. Fletcher granted to Stephen 
Van Cortland a license to purchase Saghtekoos 
of the native Indians." On June 2, 1697, Gov. 
Fletcher granted a patent to the same for a 
neck of land called and known by the Indian name 
of Saghtekoos and by the Christians called Apple- 
tree neck, being bounded on the west by Oake 
Neck Brook to an Indian foot path, and on the 
north by the foot path to Saghtekoos Creek, and 
easterly by the said Saghtekoos creek" (Munsell's 
Hist. S. C, Islip). Variations are: Sagtakos, Sat- 
tock's, Saghtecoos. Saghtekoos was probably the 



224 Indian Place-Names 

name of the Indian owner or dweller on the neck. 
This is proven by the mark of the possessive 
Saghtekoo's. The name is probably the equivalent 
of the Massachusetts (Eliot) sese'koo, "he peeped 
(as a bird)," used by Eliot for the viper, "an 
adder," etc.; or any snake that "hisses"; Mic- 
mac (Rand) 'nitdkoo-on, "a snake" ; Narragansett 
sesek, " a rattlesnake. " 

367. Sampawams: see Sumpawams. 

368. Santapogue: a neck of land in the town 
of Babylon, south of the settlement of Breslau. 
One of the five necks of meadow bought in 1659. 
It is first mentioned by name in a deed of 1669; 
viz. : "My alottment of meadow Lying and Being 
on the south side of the Island on a neck called 
Santtapauge " (H. R., vol. i., p. 134). Variants 
are: Santapauge, 1669; Santepaug, 1672; Santa- 
pauge, 1683; Santepog2ie, 1716, etc. This name is 
probably the equivalent of the Massachusetts 
(Eliot) sonkipog, "cool spring," "cool water," 
"a cup of cool water" (Matt, x., 42; Mark, ix., 41); 
Narragansett (Williams) saun-kopaugot, "cool 
water," literally, water when it is cold. Thus 
we have saiitape-auke, "a place of cool water," 
so-called from some fine spring of cold water on the 
neck to which the Indians resorted. The com- 
ponents of the word would then be santa ( = Massa- 



On Long Island 225 

chusetts sonkqiii), "cool"; -pe, "water"; -auke, 
"place." 

369. Saphorackam: a locality in the southern 
part of Brooklyn. So-named in a patent for 
land granted by Gov. Kieft, Nov. 28, 1639, viz.: 
"We have granted to Thomas Bescher, tobaco 
planter a certainn peice of land, situate upon the 
Long Island strand of the North river bay near 
Saphorakam. " Also Saphorackan {Col. Hist. N. Y., 
vol. xiv., p. 27). On Manhattan the name occurs 
as Sappokanican and Sapokanikan, 1648. This 
name probably denotes a "Tobacco plantation," 
one planted either by the Dutch or Indians; 
from sappo = uppo (Powhatan) , uhpoo (Massachu- 
setts), "tobacco"; hakihakan, "a plantation," 
"land broken up for cultivation. " Josselyn says, 
"the Indians use a small round-leaved tobacco 
called by them or the Fishermen Poke. ' ' This was 
probably Nicotiana rustica, well-known to have 
been long in cultivation among the American 
savages. See also Algonquian Series , vol. ii., 
pp. 43-46. 

370. Sassians: a locality in Brooklyn, King's 
Co. Mentioned in 1642, when "Wm. Kieft 
granted to Jan Maye a peice of land one hundred 
and twenty rods towards the woods, towards 
Sassians vasiVLQ land" (Furman's Antiq. of L.I. , p. 
281). Sassiati was probably the Indian who 



226 Indian Place-Names 

planted the "maize" and here was located his com 
field and home. Sassian signifies "the sovv^er, " 
"the planter, " corresponding to the Massachusetts 
seseahham, Delaware sasehemen " to scatter," "to 
sow"; Chippewa saswenan, "scatter"; Micmac 
sdsodoo, "to scatter," etc. 

371. Saugust: a neck of land lying at the east 
end of the village of Southold fronting the harbor 
on the south, with a creek on its east side and 
another on the west. The greater part of the 
neck is now in the possession of Stuart T. Terry, 
Esq., who resides upon it. This name is first 
recorded in an entry of 1656, viz. : "Tenn acres of 
earable and wood land, more or lesse lying and 
being in Saugust neck — the land of James Haynes 
lately deceased being on the west side thereof 
and John Conckelyne Senr. on the east." John 
Conklyne, 1662, "sells to Thomas Hutchinson 
sometime of Lynn in the Massachusetts Bay — all 
that p'cell of land adjoining to the west side of 
the field fence, containing about thirty acres in 
Saugust neck" (S. R., vol. i., pp. 31, 221). 
Mr. Stuart R. Terry writes: "Traditionally, 
Saugust was the name of its Indian owner." 
Often tradition is at fault and cannot be depended 
upon; it seems to be so in this case. Many of the 
settlers of both Southold and Southampton were 
from Lynn, Alass., even the above entry of 1662, 
names the buyer as ' ' sometime of Lynn. ' ' Saugus 



On Long Island 227 

was the name of a river at Lynn; Montowampate 
was the Sachem of Sangus near Lynn in 1633. 
Lynn was called Saugust (at Saugus) up to 1637, 
when it was changed by vote to ''Lin" (Mass. Col. 
Rec, pp. 628, 641). That locality was probably 
familiar to Hutchinson and others so they transfer- 
red the name to their Long Island home. The name 
seems to be one of the many dialectic forms de- 
rived from sauk, "an outlet" (of river or brook), 
the variations being almost innumerable. Sau- 
gust— saugus-iit, "at the mouth of a tidal river." 
With this may be compared Saugatuck in Con- 
necticut (Trumbull). 

372. Sawgoge: mentioned as a locality in 
Smithtown by a mistake of De Kay in his Indian 
Names. He derives his authority probably from 
Thompson (vol. i., p. 436) who quotes a Rhode 
Island Indian deed on the supposition that the 
Richard Smith of Rhode Island was the same one 
who settled Smithtown. Sawgogue and Paqitina- 
paquogue meadows, near Wickford, R. I., men- 
tioned in Coquinoquand' s lease to Richard Smith 
are referred to in Parsons's Indian Names in 
Rhode Island. 

373. ScoQUAMS: a neck of land and a small 
creek in Islip town, east of Babylon village. The 
neck is now termed Schookwames. In a deed of 
1740 from Nath. Weeks to John Rogers the 



228 Indian Place-Names 

neck is called Scoquams: "The western bounds 
of the town is Sampowams River. Next to the east 
there is a small creek called Scoquams'' (Munsell's 
S. C, Islip). Variations are: Sequams, Sco- 
quaumes, Schookwames. It has been traditionally- 
known as the "Snake place," but I regard it as 
the personal name of an Indian who formerly 
lived there, and that his name denotes "the 
spring," or "early summer" corresponding to 
Massachusetts (Eliot) sequan; Narragansett^ggz/aw; 
Abnaki sigoon; Cree, sekwun; Micmac segmnook; 
Delaware siguon, "the spring," "summer." A 
Shinnecock Indian called Sequanah, "the spring," 
made an agreement to try out whale blubber in 
1680 (S. H. R,, vol. ii., p. 80). A Secatogue 
Indian Sachem had the same name, viz. : Sewamas, 
in 1698, afterwards corrupted to "Wameas." 



374. ScRECUNKAs: an Island in the Great 
South Bay, now known as Cedar Island, Babylon 
town. The Indian deed of 1689 says: "A 
certaine Island of meadowe lying between ye 
south medows and ye beach called by us Screcunkas 
— all the meddowe lying westward of Pascu-ucks 
(the creek) of the sd Island Screcunkas'' (H. R., 
vol. ii., p. 48). Variations are: Sucrunkas, Su- 
crumkas, Sesecunhas, 18 16. Possibly the name 
is the equivalent of the Delaware sikunikan, 
' * scourgrass, " " rushes. ' ' 



On Lons Island 229 

374 a. ScuRRAWAY : the Indian name of Josiah's 

Neck, Babylon town east of the village of Amity- 
ville. One of the three necks of land piirchased in 
1658, but not named in the records. It is first 
noted by this name in 1697, thirty-nine years 
after the first purchase of the meadows, viz. : 
"a certain neck of land lying on ye south side 
this Island within bounds of Huntington, called 
by ye Indians Scuraway and by ye English Josiah's 
neck" (H. R., vol. ii., p. 205). Variations are: 
Seascawany, i6g8 ; Scurrawatigh, 1885. This name 
signifies probably "snake place," and is the same 
as Scucurra or "snake hill" in Connecticut, of 
which Trumbull says: "scuc is probably Mohe- 
gan skooks; Narragansett, askug; Delaware ach- 
gook, "snake." Or it may have been the name 
of an Indian living there, called "the snake." 

375. Seabamuck: one of the lesser necks of 
land into which the Manor of St. George, Mastic, 
Brookhaven town, is divided. The first neck east 
of the Connecticut or Carman's river, at its mouth. 
The most common and modern form of the name, 
Sehonack, appears also as a variation of Seponack 
Neck, Southampton town. J, Hammond Trum- 
bull considers them alike in derivation; this may 
be so, but the earliest form Seabamuck or Seba- 
miick shows that they are not identical. A record 
of 1675, says: "Francis Muncy before he died 
exchanged his medow in the ould purchase with 



230 Indian Place-Names 

Samuel Daiton, for his lott of medow at Seaha- 
wwc^ in the nue purchase " (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 35). 
August Graham's Draught of land, surveyed for 
Wm. Smith in 1693, has it Sebamuck (Land 
Papers, vol. ii., p. 207, Office Sec'y of State, Albany, 
N. Y.). Later variations are: Seboinack, 1767; 
Sebon?iack, 1767; Sabonack, 1888. The name is 
to be interpreted as Seab-amu'ck, "the river 
fishing-place" (at the mouth of the East Connecti- 
cut River). The components are: 5m6- (Massa- 
chusetts seip, Unkechaug sebus), "a river"; 
-amuck, "a fishing-place." 

376. Seapoose: the inlets that are opened in 
the beaches on the southside in the towns of East 
Hampton and Southampton, in order that the ocean 
may flow into the various ponds and ba3^s, or vice 
versa, are still at this day known as the "Seapoose.'' 
As found in the Southampton records it always 
refers to the inlet connecting Meacox Bay with 
the ocean. It is opened by digging, but it soon 
closes again. In a record of 1650 we find: 
"Ten men [named] are to have for their paines 3s. 
per day at the seapoose." Town Meeting, 1652: 
' ' Isaack Willman in a passionate manner said that 
some of them that voated for raising of the mill 
knew noe more what belonged to the sepoose 
than a dogg, he hath given satisfaction" (S. H. R,, 
vol. i,, pp. 69, 85). Variations are: Sepose, 1654; 
Sea-poose, 1684. The name Seapoose signifies 



On Lon^ Island 231 

a " little river, " being the parallel of the Narra- 
gansett (Williams) sepoese, "little river." The 
name is also applied in recent times to the ' ' under- 
tow" of the ocean both on Long Island and in New 
Jersey, where it takes the form of ''Sea-puss. " 

377. Seatquaa: a neck of land, Hempstead 
town, Queen's Co. " Jany. 27, 1704, Thos. Cardale 
& Co. petition for two necks of land lying east- 
ward of the town of Hempstead called by the 
Indians Rockaway and Seatquaa, with the out- 
lands thereunto belonging" (Cal. of Land Papers 
in Office of Sec'y of State, pp. 69, 70). The name 
Seatquaa is to be interpreted as Sea-tukq-auke, 
"land at mouth of a creek." The components 
would be sea- representing an Algonkian sak or 
saki, "mouth of a river"; -tukq, "tidal stream"; 
-auke, "land." See Seatuck. 

378. Seatuck: creek or river on the boundary 
between the towns of Southampton and Brook- 
haven at Eastport. Mentioned frequently as the 
western bound of Southampton. First in the 
Topping Indian deed of 1662, viz.: "That is to 
f^ay to begin at the Canoe Place otherwise Nia- 
muck and so to run westerly to a place called and 
known by the name of Seatuck" (S. H. R., 
vol. i., p. 168). Variations are: Seatuck, 1666; 
Setuckett, 1693; Setuk, 1748; Setuck, 1790, etc. 
The name Seatuck denotes "the mouth of a river 



232 Indian Place-Names 

or tidal creek." Setuck would be derived from 
sea-, representing an Algonkian sak or saki, 
"mouth of a river"; -tuck, "tidal stream." 
Setuckett is the same word with the locative 
-e/, "at." See Seatquaa. 

379. Seawanhacky, Sewanhaka: a name of 
Long Island found recorded in the documents 
relating to the purchases by the Dutch from the 
Indians at the period of settlement. It is not 
found in the early records relating to the eastern 
part of the Island as far as careful search reveals. 
It is found first recorded in three Indian deeds, 
two dated June 16, 1636, the other July i6th, same 
year, for meadows at what is now Flatlands, 
King's Co., viz.: "Situate on the island called 
by them Sewa?ihacky, also Sewanhacking." Varia- 
tions are: Suanhacky, 1639; various histories of 
Long Island, Seawanhacky, and Sewanhaka. The 
prefix sewan or seawan was one of the names for 
"wampum" the "shell-money" of the Indians. 
It was known in New England as Wampumpeag, 
Wampompege, Wompam and Wampum; the Dutch 
knew it as seawan, sewant; while on the Virginia 
coast it was called peak, a roughly made discoidal 
variety being known as ronoak or roenoke, and 
heavy fiattish beads pierced edgeways were 
called runtees. The Dutch Governor Kieft fixed 
by placard the price of the "good splendid sewant 
of Manhattan," at "four for a stuyver. " It is 



On. Long' Island 233 

mentioned as early as 1622 when a "Dutchman 
imprisoned one of the chiefs on his vessel and 
obliged him to pay a ransom of one hundred and 
forty fathoms of Zeewan, which consists of small 
beads they manufacture themselves and prize 
as jewels" {Doc. Hist. N. Y., vol. iii., p. 45). 
Trumbull, in the Narragansett Glub Reprint of 
Roger Williams's Key, gives the following as the 
real meaning of sewan: " Seahwhoog, 'they are 
scattered' (Eliot). From this word the Dutch 
traders gave the name of sewand or zeewand (the 
participle seahwhoim, 'scattered,' 'loose'), to all 
shell money just as the English called all peage, or 
'string beads' by the name of white or wampum.'' 
The seawan was manufactured most abundantly 
and in considerable variety on Long Island, the 
shore of which abounded in shells and was called 
for this reason Sewan-hacky, or the "Island of 
Shells." The immense quantity that was manu- 
factured accounts for the fact that in the most 
extensive shell-banks left by the Indians it is rare 
to find a whole shell (Thompson, vol. i., p. 87). 
This signification, which is the traditional, is not 
quite right. The terminal affix corresponds to the 
Delaware -/zac^3' or -hacking, "land" or "country" 
and not the Narragansett hoghk, "a shell, " literally 
a "covering. ' ' Sewan-hacky therefore signifies ' ' the 
sewan country. ' ' Eliot would have written it Seah- 
who'un-auke. See the discussion of the name Sea- 
wanhacky in Algonguian Series, vol. iv., pp. 19-26. 



234 Indian Place-Names 

380, Secatogue: neck of land in the town of 
Islip and the locaHty from which one of the Island 
tribes derives its name. It is mentioned in the 
Dutch archives as early as 1639 (see Sicketen- 
whacky). In 1657, a Dutch vessel was wrecked 
on the "South Beach" at a place called '' Secou- 
tagh." The same year "Keeosschok, the Sachem 
of Secontok, has Resigned up all that Right or 
Interest hee might anyways lay unto the necks 
of meadow" (H. R., vol. i., p. 11). Variations 
are: Seguctaug, 1657; Seagiietauke, 1659; Secatake, 
1670; Secutaug, 1696; Seaqutogue, 1697; Sequatak, 
1698; Sicketauge, 1807; modernly, Secatogue and 
Sequatogue. From the uniformity this name 
presents on being compared wdth twenty or thirty 
variations in spelling, as they occur in the early 
records, it is evidently the parallel of the Narra- 
gansett (Williams) seqiit or sucki, "black," 
"dark colored," with the locative suffix -auke, 
"land." Secatogue represents thus Seqtit-aiike, 
"black or dark colored land," and the name be- 
longed originally to the extensive meadows that 
border the upland. The meadows are now known 
as the "Black Grass Meadows." Compare the 
name of Suckiauke or Sicaiog meadows at Hartford, 
Conn, 

38 1 , Selasacott : "township of Brookhaven ' ' 
(De Kay's India?! Names, 1851). See Setauket. 

382, Senex: creek at Centre Moriches, Brook- 



On Long Island 235 

haven town. " Senekes or Senex River or Creek 
is that water which comes nearly to the business 
part of Centre Moriches, on the west side of the 
main avenue leading to the bay" (Munsell's 5. C, 
Brookhaven). The survey and map drawn by 
Aug. Graham, Sept. 10, 1693, give Sinnekes 
point and creek nearly at the mouth of Mastic 
River on the east. Fletcher's Patent, Manor of 
St. George, 1693, has, "Bounded easterward from 
ye maine sea to a river or creek called Senekes 
River" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 79). Seretches, 1714; 
Senekees, 1790; Senex, 1882. Sijmekes was prob- 
ably an Indian who lived at one time on the point 
or at the creek. The name may be related to the 
Massachusetts (Eliot) assinnekousse, "a thorn," 
"a bush." With Senex in Long Island may be 
compared Senexet, Senexsett, valley and meadow 
in Windham Co., Conn. 

383. Seponack, Sabonac: a neck of land at 
Southampton, on Peconic Bay. A farming local- 
ity in close proximity is also called by the same 
name, and is probably what was called the ^' Sea- 
ponack old ground." An order dated 1652 says: 
"Thomas Halsey Sr. and his partner shall lay out 
Sagaponack and Seponack mowing ground for a 
present supply of the Inhabitants of this towne 
for this year" (S. H. R., vol. i., p. 87). Varia- 
tions are: Seponack 1651 ; Seaponack, 1654; Sebon- 
ack, 1659; Sabonac, 1873, etc. The etymology of 



236 Indian Place-Names 

Seponack was given as "ground nut place" by 
Wm. S. Pelletreau in 1883. Dr. J. H. Trumbull 
says: '' Sebonack, Seaponack, a neck, on Peconic 
Bay, Southampton was a 'large ground-nut 
place.' Sehon or sepen (Abnaki sipen; modern 
Penobscot, she-pen; Micmac, shubun) is the root 
of the Yellow Lily (L. canadensis). Thoreau's 
Indian guide told him that these roots were good 
for soup, that is, to cook with meat to thicken it, 
and showed him how to prepare them {Maine 
Woods, pp. 194, 284, 326). Sabonac point, near 
Mastic, Brookhaven, has the same name differ- 
ently spelled. . . . The tuberous rhizoma of the 
Yellow Nelumbo or Water Chiitquapin {Nelum- 
biiim luteum) was highly prized by the western 
Algonkins. It resembles the sweet potato, and 
Dr. Torrey says {Botany of New York, vol. i., p. 38) 
that 'when fully ripe, it becomes, after considerable 
boiling, as farinaceous, agreeable, and wholesome 
as the potato.' The Chippewas call it mako-pin 
(for makwa-pin), i. e., 'bear's potato'; from which 
comes the name of Macoupi?i County, IlHnois" 
{Mag. Amer. Hist., vol. i., pp. 386-7, 1877). 
In the lease of Shinnecock Hills, which included 
the above tract, 1703, we find: "We the trustees 
— do hereby grant liberty to them and theirs, to 
cut flags, Bull-rushes and such grass as they 
usually make their mats and houses of, and to dig 
ground-nuts, mowing land excepted anywhere in 
bounds of Southampton" (S. H. R., vol. iii., p. 



On Long Island 237 

2,7 2>)- Seponack is therefore derived from sepon 
(Abnaki sipen), "ground-nut"; -ack, "place." 
See Kekhaponack, Sagaponack. 

384. Setauket: a village in the northwestern 
corner of Brookhaven and the locality where the 
first settlement of the town was begun. The 
Indian deed April 14, 1665 gives: "Articles of 
agreement, and a firme bargaine agreed and 
confirmed between the Sachem of Setaiicet, Wara- 
wakmy by name" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. i). Vavisi- 
tions are: Seatauke, 1657; Setokett, 1660; Setawke, 
1664; Setauk, 1669; Setaket, 1675; Seataukett, 1670; 
Setalcott, 1 68 1. In the various town patents it 
also appears as Setaiilcott, Selasacott, and in 1643 
we find the Dutch notation Sichteyhacky . Wm. S. 
Pelletreau in his paper on Long Island Names, 
says: ^'Setauket, in its original form seems to 
mean 'land between the streams,' the same name 
being found in New England." But the New 
England form Shetucket is entirely different, and 
our Setauket requires a different translation. It 
designated the "land at the mouth of the creek, " 
at this place where Warawakmy had his village 
at the era of settlement. The stream was the 
site of a mill in 1690. Thompson (L. /., 1843) 
says: "Where was then a mill-pond is now a tract 
of salt meadows." Setauk-ct thus signifies "land 
at the river, " or "land at the mouth of a river or 
creek," from an original Setukqut. Compare the 



238 Indian Place-Names 

various forms of the Delaware Sacuwit, Sacimk, 
Sacona, and Saquik, denoting "the mouth of a 
river"; Chippewa (Baraga) Saging, "mouth of a 
river"; Cree (Lacombe) Sakittawaw, "mouth 
of a river." See Seatuck. 

385. Shagwong: a hill, point of land, and a 
reef of rocks on the northeastern part of Montauk, 
in the "Indian Fields." Variations are: Shag- 
wagonock, Shagwannock, Shaugwong, Shagawom, 
Shagwommonock, Shagwanack (various maps 
and histories of Long Island). The name is not 
found in the town records nor in any of the Indian 
deeds. Not having any early forms of the above 
to guide us it is difficult to tell its derivation. It 
seems to be the equivalent of the Delaware 
(Zeisberger) schajawonge, "on the side of a hill," 
with the locative, "place on the side of a hill." 
The Indian huts until a few years ago were located 
on the side of this hill. 

386. Shahchippitchage : a bound-mark in the 
"North Neck," Montauk, East Hampton town. 
Mentioned in the Montauk Indian deed of 1670, 
viz.: "Shahchippitchage being on the North side 
of ye sd Land, midway between great pond and 
Fort Pond" (Hedges's Address, 1847). A variant 
is Shahchippetchuge (Ranger's Deeds, 1851). The 
names mentioned in this deed were evidently 
bestowed at the time the land was laid out, as they 



On Long Island 239 

are all bound-marks, this one being a pile of stones. 
The name is composed of shah, a form correspond- 
ing to the Massachusetts nashaue (Eliot), "in the 
middle," "midway" (frequently abbreviated to 
ashwa-, shaw-, shew-, she-, etc.)- Chippitchage = 
Massachusetts chip' pachaug (Eliot), "a separated 
place," "place of separation.' This makes the 
name Shah-chip' pachaug, "the midway place of 
separation," as stated in the above. 

387. Shancsomacocke : a locality at Flat- 
lands, King's County. Mentioned in the Indian 
deed of May 13, 1664, viz.: "both of upland and 
marshes, any way belonging thereto, as the Straun 
Beach or Beaches, as namely that running out 
more westerly, with the Island adjoining, and is 
at the same time by the ocean sea wholly in- 
closed, called hoopaninak and Shanscomacocke, 
etc. " (Stiles's Hist. King's Co., p. 78). The name 
Sha7iscomacocke represents Mashans-comac-ocke, 
"much inclosed place," or "wholly inclosed 
place." 

388. Shatemuc: the Mohegan name of Hud- 
son River. Variations are Shattemuc, Chatemuc. 
Schoolcraft says: " Shaita, in the cognate dialect 
of the Odjibwa means a pelican." It cannot be 
affirmed to denote the same thing in this dialect, 
nor is it known that the pelican has ever been 
seen on this river. I am inclined to regard the 



240 Indian Place-Names 

name as the equivalent of Nashaue-tuk-ut, "place 
where two streams meet," literally, "a place 
between." (Compare Shawtucket, also called 
Showattucket, in Connecticut.) The Showtucket 
Indians occupied the crotch of the Quinebaug and 
Shetucket rivers (pronounced by the Indians Shoo- 
tucket, which, lam informed, signifies "confluence") 
(Rev. Dr. Nott's MS. Account of Franklin, 
1800, according to Trumbull). The same name 
occurs in Rhode Island as Shewatuck and Showa- 
tiicguese (Parsons). Shatemuc perhaps described 
the "union" of the East River with the Hudson. 

389. Shawango: "neck between Great Pond 
and Fort Pond, Ocean side, Montauk" (De Kay's 
Indian Names). I have been unable to find any 
other authority for the above. De Kay may have 
got it from a map of 1845, where Shewango 
Neck includes the whole of Montauk east of the 
Great Pond, but this is an error for Shagwong 
(q.v.). 

390. Shawcopshee: a locality on Staten 
Island, Richmond Co. In 1664, " Shawestcout 
and Erramorhas Indians residing at Shawcopshee 
upon Staten Island, sell a tract of land at Hallets 
point" (Munsell's Hist. Queen's Co.). It ap- 
pears also as Shawkopoke (Thompson, vol. ii., p. 
150). I have been unable to learn the exact local- 
ity to which this name was given; but it was 



On Lon^ Island 241 

probably one of the harbors on the north shore 
of the island. The word is composed of shaw 
corresponding to Delaware lechauwaak, "fork" 
(of a stream); Massachusetts nashatie, "place 
between," "fork," "midway," etc.; copshee or 
kopoke, coTTQS^ondmg to kuppi, "closed" (kob-pog, 
"a haven," "harbor"; copsie, a term denoting 
"a safe place of landing, formed by eddy waters, " 
according to Schoolcraft) . We get thus N'shauw- 
kopoke, "the midway haven or harbor." 

391. Shepmoes: a plantation upon the Island 
Manhattan, probably at or near the present East 
14th Street {Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. no). 
It was probably so called from an Indian who 
planted there. 

392. Sherawoug: a locality on the east side 
of Stony Brook Harbor, near St. James, Smith- 
town. The late Hon. J. Lawrence Smith, in his 
Notes 071 Smithtowji, in Munsell's Hist. S. C, says: 
"The whole east side of the Harbor was called 
Sherrawog. " A variant is Sherawoug (Thompson, 
vol. i., p. 458). I have been unable to obtain 
early forms to verify it, but the name seems 
to be the same as Ashawog, Assawaug, Nashaway, 
etc., occurring in various forms throughout New 
England, and on Long Island, designating "a 
place between" (Massachusetts nashaue, "in 
the middle"). Probably so called because it was 

16 



242 Indian Place-Names 

land between Wopawog and Nissequoque or some 
other limited tract. 

393. Shinnecock: a neck of land, a bay, and 
a range of hills in Southampton town. It be- 
longed originally to the plain of which the neck 
forms a part. It is first mentioned in the Indian 
deed of Southampton, Dec. 13, 1640, viz.: "It is 
agreed that the Indians above named shall have 
liberty to break up ground for their use to the 
westward of the creek on the west side of Shine- 
cock plaine" (S. H. R., vol. i., p. 13). In town 
meeting, 1641 : "It is agreed that any person that 
hath lotts up on Shinecocke playne in which 
there are any Indian Barnes or wells lying shall 
fill them up" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 32). Variations 
axe: Shinnekuke, iS^y ; Shinnocut, 1657; Shinnikut, 
1667; Shinnecock, etc. The terminal syllable of 
this name, -cock, is a corrupted form of -auk-ut, 
"at a place," "at the land." With its prefix, 
Shinne-auk-ut, "at the level land or country," is 
the parallel of the Massachusetts shinne-auke-ut 
(Eliot), "level land"; Delaware shing-hacki, 
"fiat or level ground"; Chippewa jing- akamiga, 
"there is level coimtry. " The first component 
of the word, shinne, corresponds to Delaware 
schingeu, "level." 

394. Shockheyoune : On January 24, 1676, 
Richard Smith, Sr., of Nissequauge gives to Obadiah 



On Lon^ Island 243 

Smith (his son) the tract of land at the mouth of 
Nissequage River on the west side from the swamp 
of the creek called Shockheyoune to the North Sea, 
being about 100 acres with all the meadow 
(information furnished by O. B. Ackerly, Esq., 
and Wm. S. Pelletreau, Esq.). The derivation 
of the name is uncertain. 

395. Sichetanyhacky: a locality given in 
De Kay's Indian Names, as being a place men- 
tioned in Kieft's purchase, south of Cow Bay, 
Queen's Co. We find it in the Indian deed of 
January 15, 1639: "The grantor's (Sachem of 
Massapeag) patrimonial lands and the jurisdiction 
thereof situate upon Long Island — reaching in 
length along the southside — from Reckouwhacky 
(Rockaway) to Siketenwhacky.'' Variants are: 
Siketenhacky , 1644; Sickentanhacky , 1645 {Col. 
Hist.N. K, vol. xiv., pp. 15, 56, 60). The Secatogues' 
land bounded the jurisdiction of the Massapeags 
on the east, consequently this locality was the 
property of the Secatogiies. Sicketenwhacky which 
is in Dutch notation "the country of the Secato- 
gues, " the terminal being -hacky, "land." See 
Secatogiie. 

396. SiCHTEYHACKY : Dutch notation for Setau- 
ket. Mentioned in treaty of 1645. See Mochgon- 
nekonck, Setauket. 

397. Sintsinck: (a) a name given to Man- 



244 Indian Place-Names 

hasset Bay or to a locality on the Bay, North 
Hempstead, Queen's Co. "Cow Neck now called 
Manhasset Neck was called by the Indians Sint- 
sinck'' (French's Gazetteer of N. Y., i860). An 
Indian deed of January 15, 1639, for land in 
Queen's Co., states: "We Director and Council 
of New Netherland testify and declare that to-day, 
personally, appeared before us Mechowodt, chief 
Sachem of Marossepinck, Sint sinck (also called 
Schout's bay), and its dependances" {Col. Hist. 
N. F., vol. xiv., p. 28). 

(b) Sint sinck: tract of land at Astoria, Queen's 
Co. "A tract of land near Hallets Point was 
sold in 1664 by Shawestcout and Erramorhas 
Indians — beginning at first creek called Sunwick. 
This tract was called by the Indians 'Sint sinck,' 
and it embraced nearly the whole of Hell-gate 
neck" (Munsell's Hist. Queen s Co.). This name 
is probably the same as Sing-Sing in Westchester 
Co., N. Y. Originally this was Ossining, said to 
signify "stone upon stone," that is, "a stony 
place. " In 1 90 1 the old name Ossining was re- 
adopted. For this name another etymology 
assinesink, "at the little stone," has been offered 
{Handb. of Amer . Indians N. ofMex., vol. ii., 1910, 
pp. 161, 577). 

398. Skookwams, Schookwaumes: a neck of 
land east of Babylon in Islip town. ''Schook- 
waumes is the neck of land upon which is located 



On Long' Island 245 

the residence of E. B. Sutton, Esq. The Indian 
name signifies 'snake neck,' or 'snake place' " 
(J. W. Cooper in Babylon Signal, June 13, 1885). 
This is probably a corrupted form of Sequam 
or Scoguam as it was called earlier. See Scoquams. 

399. Skupash: a creek in the meadows at 
Jamaica, Queen's Co. Named in the Division 
of meadows, July i, 1657: "Ye fourth — are to 
lie eastward from ye sayd crik in ye hasoky mea- 
dows to ye River called Skupash'' {Col. Hist. 
N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 505). This name is possibly 
a contraction of Maskituash and signifies "grass," 
"grassy," "a meadow." 

400. Slongo : Sunk Meadow, Smithtown. Hon. 
J. Lawrence Smith, in his "Notes on Smithtown" 
(Munsell's iJ^'^/. S. C), says: "We are unable to 
find the derivation or meaning of the name 
Slongo. The inhabitants of that locality do not 
remember any tradition of the name. De Kay 
in his printed — but not published — list of Indian 
names, inquires if Slongo is not Dutch." 

401. SoNNQUOQUAs: a name of Tom's Creek, 
or the land adjoining at Southold. Mentioned 
in the confirmatory deed of Hashamomuk Neck, 
February 20, 1660, viz. : "All that land lying and 
being neere or adjoining Tom's Creek, in Indian 
Sonnqiioquas" (S. R., vol. i., p. 208). This shows 



246 Indian Place-Names 

that Sonquoqua was an Indian who lived at this 
place, and from his English name of Tom, the 
creek perhaps derived its name, although the 
common supposition is that it was derived from 
Thomas Benedict, one of the early inhabitants 
of Hashamomuk. Sonquoqua was one of the chief 
men of the Manhansett tribe ; his name appears on 
the deed to Sylvester and Company for Shelter 
Island in 1652, as " Sonquoequahesick. " The affix 
-esick, "of the brook," probably refers to his 
residence at Tom's Creek (E. H. R., vol. i., p. 
97)- 

402. SouwASSETT: "Port Jefferson [Brook- 
haven town] formerly Drown Meadow, called 
by the Indians Sowassett" (Thompson's, L. I., 
vol. i., p. 432). The name is traditional and 
does not appear in the town records, but in the 
histories of Long Island it is found as Sowassett, 
Souwassett, and Sonassett, the last, no doubt, 
a typographical error. The name denotes "at 
the place of small pines. " The components of the 
word are kouwa, corresponding to Massachusetts 
kmua, pine, in the diminutive, kwwa-wese, or 
kmwaese, "a small (or young) pine"; the 
locative affix -es-et; making Koowas-es-et (Narra- 
gansett Cowawesuck), "at the young pine place," 
or ' ' small pine place. ' ' Several localities in New 
England have retained, in forms more or less corrup- 
ted, this appellation. The Indian name of the tree, 



On Lon^ Island 247 

was taken from its pointed leaves ; kous, " a thorn," 
"brier," or "having a sharp point" (Trumbull). 
In the Delaware we find cuwe, "pine-tree," 
cuweuchac, "pine wood" (also varied as kuive, 
and kuweuchac). Rev. A. S. Anthony, Assistant 
Missionary to the Delawares in Canada, and a 
full blooded Delaware himself, differs from Dr. 
Trumbull as to its primary signification, and says 
it is properly p'koweu, "it is sticky," alluding to 
the resin {Lendpe-E7iglish Dictionary, 1888). 
August 6, igio. The foregoing was written six- 
teen^or more years ago, and it may or may not be 
correct, so I leave it. Thompson firrther remarks 
(Proc. N. Y. Hist. Soc, 1845, p. 131): "The 
Indian name of Port Jefferson was Sowassett, 
and the cove between it and Setaukett was 
Poquott." After considerable inquiry as well 
as personal search, Thompson is the earliest 
authority for these two names whom we have 
been able to discover. They may have survived 
in tradition up to his day, or he may have found 
them in some early deed unknown to us. Which- 
soever this may be, they have every appearance 
of some mistake according to our present view, 
and the two are more likely to have been an 
original Poquossett, "where (water) it opens out 
or widens, i. e., drowns the land." This sugges- 
tion is apparently confirmed by the fact that 
Port Jefferson was earlier called "Drowned 
Meadow." See the discussion of the adopted 



248 Indian Place-Naixies 

Indian term poqiiosin in the American Anthro- 
pologist (n. s.), vol. i. (1899), pp. 162-170. 

403. Speonk: a village in the western part of 
Southampton town, about a mile from the bound- 
ary. The name was originally given to the neck 
of land on which the village is located. The 
creek on the east is also known as Speonk River. 
The locality is not mentioned in the records of the 
town until 1712, seventy- two years after the settle- 
ment in 1640, and forty-six years after the Topping 
purchase of 1666, of which the neck forms a 
part. Then we find it as follows: "a descrip- 
tion of ye meadow and upland att Speeunk, Wee 
whose names are hereunto subscribed being 
chosen by the town to lay ye upland and meadow 
in quantity and quality as may appear by a voat 
of said Town" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 155). The 
word is spelled in the above record in four in- 
stances as Speeunk; Speonk, 1748; Speunk, 1782. 
In regard to its meaning we must remain in doubt, 
for the word may be a corrupted form. Wm. S. 
Pelletreau writes: "It is 'high ground,' " and 
gives Dr. J. H. Trumbull as his authority. This 
interpretation he probably derives from compari- 
son with the Mohegan spummunk, "on high"; 
Passamaquoddy, spemuk, "above." But, as 
these terms are used in the sense of being "in 
the heavens," we cannot think it so derived, for 
the land is perfectly level in this section. I have 



On Long Island 249 

suggested its derivation from asp-yeuonk, "place 
lifted up," which is similar to Trumbull's, but 
from different elements. This might refer to the 
bluffs on the east side of the neck, although they 
are hardly high enough to merit the name of 
bluffs. There is a name a few miles to the west, 
which may have been duplicated on. this neck, 
and affords a good derivation for Speonk, viz. : 
(wa)speunk, "to the edge, margin or border (of 
a stream)." This will apply very well to the 
topography of Speonk Neck. See Waspeunk. 

404. Sphetonga: "Brooklyn Heights, L. I." 
(De Kay's Indian Names.) See Ihpetonga. 

405. Squassucks : a point of land in Brookhaven 
town on the East Connecticut River. Munsell 
records that a dock had been constructed at a 
point called Squassucks (Hist. S. C, Brook- 
haven). On May 10, 1728, there was"laydoute 
a Highway from Squasuck's pointe below ye 15 
aker lots, soe running across the necke to ye 
Little fly" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 118). It appears 
also as Squasucx, 1737. This point of land 
derives its name from Wesquassuck, an Indian, who 
lived at one time on the point. His name appears 
on the Indian deed for roads in 1690 as Wesqttase- 
sac, and on Wm. Smith's deed to the Indians at 
Pusspatok in 1700, as Wisquosuck (B. H. R., vol. i., 
pp. 76, 91). The word is composed of wisq, "a 



250 Indian Place-Names 

pot," "dish," etc.; -ussu-uk, "he finishes," com- 
pletes," "makes." Hence Wisq-uss-uk, "pot 
maker, " as a personal name. 

406. Squaw: an Island in the town of South 
Oyster Bay, Queen's Co. It is said to have been 
derived from the fact that it was the refuge of the 
squaws and children during troublous times. On 
some maps it is spelled Skow. The word squaw 
represents Massachusetts squa (Eliot uses the 
compound squaas, i. e., "female animal,") or 
eshqua; Delaware ochqueu, etc. 

407. Squaw-Hill: one of the range of Shin- 
necock Hills, near the Tuckahoe gate, Southamp- 
ton. 

408. Squaw-pit or Squam-pit: the tract of 
land in Huntington near "Deer Park," now 
Wiandance, was known as the Squaw-pit purchase, 
sometimes called "Squani." 

409. Squorums: a neck of land on the east 
bounds of Mastic Neck. From the name of an 
Indian resident thereon, alternate with Waspeunk. 
See Musqiiatax. 

410. Sucos: "the site of the village of Brook- 
ville in the town of Oyster Bay, Queen's Co., was 
called Suco's wigwam" (Munsell's Hist. Queen's 



On Long' Island 251 

Co.). So called from Smco, the Indian who oc- 
cupied the wigwam. His name is an abbreviation 
of Suconamon, from whom the land was purchased 
in the early days of the township. 

411. SuGGAMUCK: a creek near Flanders, 
Southampton town, now called Birch Creek. It 
is designated by its Indian name in the testimony 
of the old Sachem Paucamp, taken down by Wm. 
Wells in 1660: "being in the west end of the Bay, 
five creeks . . . the third Suggamuck" (Book of 
Deeds, vol. ii., p. 213, Office of Sec'y of State, 
Albany, N. Y.). The name M'sugg-amuck sig- 
nifies "a place where they went to catch bass," 
" a bass fishing-place. " The components of the 
word are sugg, suggig, for 'm'suggig, "bass"; 
Narragansett (R. Williams) missuckeke, "bass"; 
Massachusetts (Wood) -amuck, "fishing-place." 
A creek on Shelter Island retains its name of "Bass 
Creek" from similar happenings. Wood writes 
thus concerning this fish : " The Baffe is one of the 
best fifhes in the country, and though men are some 
wearied with other fifh, yet are they never with 
Balle; it is a delicate, fine fat faft fish, having a 
bone in his head, which contains a fawcerfull of 
marrow fweet and good, pleafant to the pallat, and 
wholfome to the ftomach, when there be great ftore 
of them we onely eate the heads, and fait up the 
bodies for winter, of thefe fishes fome be three 
and fome fotire foot long, fome bigger, fome leffer; 



252 Indian Place-Names 

at fome tides a man may catch a dozen or twenty 
of thefe in three houres, the way to catch them 
is with hooke and Hne. The fifherman taking a 
great Cod-Hne, to which he fafteneth a peece of 
Lobfter and throwing into the fea, the fifh biting 
it he pulls her to him, and knockes her on the 
head with a sticke. Thefe are at one time (when 
Alwives palTe up the River) to be catched in the 
Rivers, in Lobfter time at the Rockes, in macrill 
time in the Bayes, at Michelmas in the feas, when 
they use to tide it in and out to the Rivers and 
Creeks, the Englifh at the top of an high water do 
crolTe the Creekes with long seanes or Baffe Notts, 
which stop in the fifh; and the water ebbing from 
them they are left on the dry ground sometimes 
two or three thousand at a set" (N. E. Prospect, 
1634, PP- 37-38) . Roger Williams's {Key) says: 
"The Indians (and the English too) make a daintie 
dif h of the Uppaqiiontup, or head of this fifh ; and 
well they may, the braines and fat of it being very 
much, and fweet as marrow," See Aspatuck, 
Messemennuck, and Rapahamuck. 

412. SuMPAWAMS, Sampawams: a name now 
applied to the creek that separates the towns of 
Babylon and Islip. It belonged originally to the 
neck, on which the principal part of the village 
of Babylon is built. This name appears about 
twenty-one times in the printed records of the 
town of Huntington, with the following variations 



On Long Island 253 

in orthography, viz, : Sampawame, Sumpwams, 
Sowampams, 1689; Sumpawams, i6go ; Sampaumes, 
I Ggy ; Sumpwams, 1740; and, although "commonly 
so-called" in 1689, it does not appear earlier in 
the records. It is evident from the insistence 
of the English possessive, that the neck of land 
on which the name was originally bestowed, 
derives its appellation from an Indian named 
Sampawam or Sumpwam, who formerly lived 
and planted there. There are other necks of land 
extending into Great South Bay and contingent 
waters, which take their Indian names from like 
circumstances. I am aware that no Indian, 
designated by this name in its entirety can be 
found mentioned in the records; but there is one, 
however, whose popular cognomen among the 
settlers may be a curtailed reminder of Sumpwams. 
In the Indian deed for Sumpwams Hook (H. R., 
vol. i., p. 171) his name is written "pwamas," 
which is seemingly near enough to justify the con- 
clusion that this name in its various forms, seldom 
twice alike, is a colloquial contraction. Similar 
change is noticed in the English contraction 
"Siases'' for Josiah's Neck in the same township. 
The meaning of Sumpawam is the "straight walker" 
or "he goes straight," hence, an "upright or just 
man." The first component sump- or saump- 
is the equivalent of the Narragansett saumpi 
and Massachusetts sampwi, signifying primarily 
"straight," "direct," and, by metonymy, "just," 



254 Indian Place-Names 

"upright," ''right in action or conduct," being 
used more often in this sense than in the other 
by Ehot in his Indian Bible. The terminal is the 
verb of motion, in the third person singular 
(-aum=8m,) or as Eliot sometimes wrote it (w8m), 
"he goes." Hence we have, in Eliot's notation, 
Samp-w'mS's Neck. 

413. SuNGiC: a point of land, and a creek on 
the east side of Shelter Island, Gardiner's Bay. 
The name is traditional, and found only on the 
maps of the Island, and in local parlance. It 
denotes ' ' a stony place, ' ' being the equivalent 
of the Unkechaug sun "a stone"; Massachusetts 
(Eliot) hassun, "stone"; Delaware ac^j-zw, "stone" 
(cf. achsinnigeu, "stony"), with locative suffix. 
The shores of the Island at this locality are quite 
rocky. A point a short distance south is known 
as the "Rocky Point." See Sunwicks. 

414. SuNKAPOGUE: a creek in the town of 
Brookhaven, Mastic Neck, so-named in an Indian 
deed from Macarac, alias Humphrey, native of 
Unkechogue, to Andrew Gibb, dated April i, 
1690, for half a neck of land of which this creek 
was a part of the east bounds. (Book of Deeds, 
Southampton Clerk's Office. Copy by Wm. S. 
Pelletreau, Esq.) Appears in 1692 asSunkapauk. 
The name Sunkapogue corresponds to the Massa- 
chusetts sonkipog, "cool water-place," "a spring 



On Long Island 255 

or brook of running water" (from soiiqui, " cool " ; 
-paug, "water-place"). See Musquatax. 

415. SUNWICKS: a creek at Astoria, Queen's 
Co. It is noted in the Indian deed of Aug. i , 1 664, 
to Wm. Hallet, viz. : "Beginning at the first crick, 
called Sufiwick, westward below Hellgate upon 
Long Island, and from the mouth of sd crick 
south to a markt tree fast by a great rock" 
(Thompson, vol. ii., p. 150). Also Simwicks, and, 
on some maps, Sunswicks. This name probably 
signifies a "stone-house" {sun-wick), which the 
Dutch or English had erected near the creek. 
But see Sungtc. 

416. SwEGO: a locality in Huntington town. 
Mentioned in 177 1, viz. : "And we do direct Doctor 
Wiggins to have Jonah Woods house at Swego or 
some other remote place" (Order relating to 
Smallpox, H. R., vol. ii., p. 508). It is just possible 
that this name may be a corruption of Oswego, 
imported from the well-known name in New York 
State, which is of Iroquoian origin, the word from 
which it is derived corresponding in meaning to the 
Algonldan sagi-, sack-, sank-, etc., "flowing out," 
"outlet." 

417. Syosset: a village in the town of Oyster 
Bay. This name is of Indian derivation; it has 
been evolved from the Dutch Schouts, "a sheriff. " 



256 Indian Place-Names 

Schout, Siocits, Syocits, are some of the various 
stages of degradation, down to its present form. 

418. Tackan: a tract of land in Smithtown 
on the Nissequogue River, "February 24, 1704, 
Benj. Aske petitions for a warrant to survey 
land on the Nissequogue River." On the same 
date is filed a survey of 24,283 acres of land on 
the river, purchased by Benj. Aske & Co. from 
the Indians. On March 20, 1704, a license is 
issued to Benj. Aske to purchase "a tract of land 
in the county of Suffolk called Tackan'" (Cal. 
of Land Papers in Office of Sec'y of State, p. 70). 
The tract was evidently woodland, and the name 
describes the locality; being the equivalent of 
the Delaware tachan "woods," "forest," "wild- 
lands," etc. See Wissiquack. 

419. Tatamuckatakis : a neck and creek in 
Babylon town, west of Copiag Neck, now known 
as Great Neck, and Great Neck Creek. One of 
the three necks of meadow bought in 1658 from 
the Massapeagiie Indians, but not named. It is 
first recorded in 1659, viz.: "And that half neck 
which was massapage Indian land called by them 
tatamunehese'' (H. R., vol. i., p. 19). Also as 
Yatamontitaheg (vol. ii., p. 52) . This is a duplicate 
of the entry of 1659, with change in spelling. 
Again, in 1666, viz.: "a neck comonly called by 
the Indians Copiage bounded on the west with a 



On Long Island 257 

river called Yatamuntitahege" (H. R., vol. i., p. 84). 
An Indian deed for the upland of Copiag Neck, 
1693, has "westward upon Tatamuckatakis Creek" 
(H. R., vol. ii.). The will of Jonas Wood (Febru- 
ary, 1688) has Tantamimtatauket ; Munsell gives 
Tacamackacackee; and J. W. Cooper, Esq., in the 
Babylon Signal for June 13, 1883, Tac-a-mac-a- 
cak-ee. The name belonged originally to the 
meadows bordering the creek and upland and 
Tatamuckatakis signifies "meadow that trembles. " 
The components of the word are tata, "to shake, 
to tremble"; muckatakis , corresponding to Massa- 
chusetts moskehtuash, "grass," "pasturage." 

420. Taukoms: neck of land in the town of 
Babylon. Mentioned in the Indian deed of 
1697, viz.: — "And a neck called by ye English 
Lacten's Neck, called by ye Indians taukoms'' 
(H. R., vol. ii., p. 208). From the possessive 
termination, this may be the name. of its Indian 
owner. Lacten does not appear in the early 
records among the names of the English settlers, 
consequently it may be a name applied by the 
English to the Indian Taukom. His name seems 
to be the equivalent of the Massachusetts (Eliot) 
Tohkeko7n, "a spring," "a fountain"; Narra- 
gansett Takekum, "a spring of water." 

421. Tenkenas: Ward's Island, in the East 
River, formerly called "Great Barcut, " or 



258 Indian Place-Names 

"Great Barn Island," by the Indians was named 
Tenkenas (French's Gazetteer of N. Y., i860). 
The Indian deed of July 16, 1637 has "when two 
chiefs Seyseys and Numess convey to Wouter 
Van Twiller, Director General of New Netherland, 
the two islands, situate in the Hellegat, of which 
the larger is called Tenkenas^' {Col. Hist. N. Y., 
vol. xiv., p. 5). The name Tenkenas corresponds 
to the Delaware tekene, "forest," "woods," 
' ' bushy, " " wild lands, ' ' etc. See Minnahanonck, 
Tachan. 

422. Tersarge: a locality on the north side of 
Long Island, probably in Smithtown. On (prob- 
ably) April 4, 1685, one Comelissin petitions 
the Governor for a warrant "to survey a tract of 
land allotted to him by the Indians, at a place 
called by them Tersarge, being to the eastward 
of the town of Huntington on the north side of the 
Island" (Gal. of Land Papers in Office of Sec'y 
of State, Albany, p. 30). The name, etymology, 
etc., are very uncertain. 

423. TiANNA: bay and creek in western 
Southampton at Good Ground. It is recorded 
in the laying out of the lower division in the 
Quogue purchase, 1738, viz.: "No. 12 above the 
lower highway on the west side of said neck, butt- 
ing to the middle highway running westward to 
Tiannah water" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. loi). Va- 



On Long Island 259 

nations are: Tianna, 1754; Tyana, 1757; Tianah, 
1763; Tiana, 1782. The tradition (probably- 
correct) is, that Tianah was the name of a squaw 
who lived at the head of the bay near the creek. 
Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull, in a communication 
to Wm. S. Pelletreau, regards it as an abbreviation 
of a longer name. 

424. Tinnie's: a hole of water on Neapeague 
Beach, near the Amagansett Hills. So-called 
from a squaw who was drowned therein. 

425. Towapionke: a tract of land east of 
Mastic Neck, town of Brookhaven, so-named in a 
deed from William Smith to John Wood, dated 
Dec. 20, 1693 (Suffolk County Clerk's Office, 
Deeds, Liber A, p. 14. Copy by O. B. Ackerly, 
Esq.). The name represents Tow-api-onke, "wad- 
ing place where there is sitting down, before cross- 
ing. " The components of the word are tow, 
corresponding to Delaware towin, "to wade," 
"to walk in the water," "to ford"; api, the 
equivalent of the Massachusetts appeu, "he 
sits"; -onke (-auke), "place." See Towd. 

426. Towd: a locality near "North Sea," 
Southampton town. It is frequently mentioned 
in the early records, and is still so-called. "Town 
meeting, Januar}^ 22, 1660, — It is concluded that 
the North sea neighbors shall have all that tract 



26o Indian Place-Names 

of land lying within their line, which line beginneth 
at the old foot path goeing over the stony brook, 
neer where the millstone was gotten and endeth 
at the head of Towd, which Towd [which part 
of Towd] is a little cove above the wading-place 
[at Towd].'' Again, Nov. 26, 1738: "And ye 
road leading from ye wading-place at Towd to 
Sag Harbor" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 209; vol. iii., p. 
94). Variations are: Towde, 1728; Toude, 1747. 
Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull, in a letter to Wm. 
S. Pelletreau, suggests that Towd is an abbrevia- 
tion of Towadena, "a low place between hills." 
This he gets from comparison with the Chippewa 
(Baraga) towadena, "a valley," etc. I must 
reject this derivation, for the early records, as 
will be seen above, refer to a "wading place." 
Towd was the general name given to the locality 
(as it is to-day) near the "going over." I there- 
fore consider Towd to be related to the Delaware 
towin, "to ford," "to wade over." See Towa- 
pionke, Toyonge. 

427. Toyonge: Red Creek, at the head of 
Peconic Bay, Southampton town. The same 
creek in the Indian deed of 1648 is called Mash- 
manock. Paucamp, the old Sachem, said in 
May, 1660 (he was then aged about 80), "that 
Occabauke was an antient seate of sachemship, 
and of long standing, that is to say time out of 
mind, but the first in his time did possesse the 



On Lon^ Island 261 

Upland and Meadow on the swamp side of the 
head of the River being in the west end of the bay, 
five creekes, the fifth Toyoungs, being the out 
Bounds thereof" (Book of Deeds, vol. ii., p. 210, 
Office of the Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.). 
Variations are: Toyonge, 1665; Toyoung, 1667; 
Toyongs, 1676; Toyong, 1682, etc. This name 
signifies "a ford," or " wading-place, " and is 
called "the wading-river " in some of the early 
records. It corresponds to the Massachusetts 
(Eliot) tmskeong, "a ford" (Delaware towm, "to 
ford"; tschosin, "to wade"); Narragansett toyusk, 
"a bridge" (also Narragansett toceketuck, "let us 
wade"). Heckewelder has in Delaware, tohickon, 
"stream over which we pass by means of a 
bridge of driftwood. " See Towd. 

428. TucKAHOE: a level tract of land, and a 
school district, three miles north of the village 
of Southampton. The locality derives its name 
from a plant formerly gathered in the vicinity by 
the Indians, the tubers of which were used for 
food by the Indians. The plant is known to 
botanists as Arum tryphylluni (Willd.) commonly 
called "Jack -in -the -Pulpit," "Wake-Robin," 
"Indian Turnip," etc. It is found in all parts 
of the U. S. growing in damp woods, in swamps, 
along ditches, and in other moist shady places. 
Capt. John Smith says: "The chief e root they 
have for food is called Tockawhough. It groweth 



262 Indian Place-Names 

like a flagge in Marishes. In one day a Salvage 
will gather sufficient for a weeke. These roots are 
much of the greatnesse and taste of Potatoes. 
They use to cover a great many of them with oke 
leaves and Ferns, and then cover all with earth 
in the manner of a Cole-pit ; over it, on each side, 
they continue a great fire 24 hours before they 
dare eat it. Raw it is no better than poyson and 
being rosted, except it be tender and the heat 
abated, or sliced or dryed in the Sunne mixed 
with sorrell and meale or such like, it will prickle 
and torment the throat extreamly and yet in 
sommer they use this ordinarily for bread" {Gen. 
Hist, of Virginia, 1624, Book ii, pp. 26, 27). 
Trumbull says : ' ' Tuckahoe takes its name from 
one or another of the larger 'round' (Massachu- 
setts pHuckwe) roots. The common tuckaho of 
Virginia {tockwhogh as Capt. John Smith wrote 
the name, toccaho and tockowhoiigh of Strachey) 
was the root of the Golden Club or Floating Arum 
{Orontium aquaticum). Tt groweth like a flag 
in low, muddy freshes' (Strachey). In New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania the name seems to have 
been specially appropriated to a sort of truffle 
or subterranean fungus {Pachyma cocos Fries.), 
popularly called 'Indian loaf.' Several localities, 
creeks, etc., in various parts of the country retain 
the name of Tuckahoe; e. g., Tuckahoe Creek and 
village, Cape May Co., N. J.; Tuckahoe Hill, 
Yonkers, N. Y., another Tuckahoe Creek, Jones Co., 



On Lon^ Island 263 

N. Y. ; another in Maryland, etc. One of the 
most amusing of Mr. Heckewelder's etymologies 
is that by which the name of Tuckahoe Creek, 
Ind., "is derived from ^Tuchahowe, deer are shy, 
difficult to come at; also Tuchauchsoak, the place 
where deer are very shy'!" {Mag. Amer. Hist., 
June 1877, p. 386). 

429. Turkom: a small point or neck of land 
between two small creeks near Me?iantic Neck, 
Shelter Island. The name is traditional and 
known only locally. I have been told by a for- 
mer owner that it is not Indian but a corrup- 
tion of ''Turkey-man," the English name of an 
Indian residing there. 

430. Uncawamuck : a creek in Riverhead town. 
Mentioned in the Indian deed of March 14, 1648, 
viz. : "The whole tract of Land commonly called 
Ocquebauck, Bounded on the East with the Creeke 
Uncawamuck which is the neck creek to the place 
where ye Canoes are drawn over to Mattituck" 
(Book of Deeds, vol. ii., p. 210. Office of the 
Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.). The name 
Uncawamuck signifies "the further fishing-place." 
The components of the word are uncawa, cor- 
responding to Massachusetts (Eliot), ongkoue, 
"beyond," "further"; -amuck, "fishing-place." 
See Unkawa, Unkechaug. 



264 Indian Place-Names 

431. Unchenchie: given as one of the names 
of Shelter Island as follows: 

Where is the chief of Unchenchie the while? 
I saw the watch light on the Sheltering Isle; 
Look over Neapeague's far desert of sand, 
Cometh he not with his warrior band? 

Ayres's Legends of Montauk, 1849. 

(Note : "Unchenchie = one of the names of Shelter 
Island.") 

This is a mistake of Mr. Ayres. It was the 
Sachem of Shelter Island that was formerly 
called Unchenchie, as proven by the following: 
"Witnesseth that whereas James ffaret Esq. 
Deputie — was by purchas from Unchenchie, 
Sachem of Pammanuck — possest of Manhansuck 
being a member of Long Island called Pam- 
manack — and whereas Yoko Sachem of the said 
Menhansack, formerly called Unchenchie Acton- 
cocween" (Deed of 1656, E.H.R., vol. i.,pp. 96,97). 

432. Unckachohok : a form of Unkechaug. 
This form of the name is found in the Indian 
release of 1703, viz.: "Wee namely Ginagonhut 
Sachem of Unckachohok and Sumono his sister, 
wife of Pomgomo Sachem of Shinnecock, etc." 
(S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 179). See Unkechaug. 

433. Uncohong, Uncohoug: a variation of 
Unkechaug found in certain histories of Long 
Island. See Unkechaug. 



On Lon^ Island 265 

434. Unkawa, Unkaway: neck of land partly 
in towns of Babylon and Oyster Bay. Mentioned 
in the record of the boundary between Huntington 
and South Oyster Bay, Sept. 5, 1795, viz. : "Then 
running to the west part of one of the Branches 
of Masapagiie swamp ... so down about the 
middle of Unkawa to or near a tree the southside 
of the Highway that leads across the neck" 
(H. R., vol. iii., p. 128). Again in a deed of 1823: 
"Toward the middle of a large grove or clump of 
walnut trees on Unkaway neck" (vol. iii., p. 311). 
The same name is met with in Uncowa, or Uncoa, 
Fairfield, Conn. Unqua is another form of the 
word and it appears as an adjectival prefix to 
many Indian local names. The neck was so- 
called because it was unkawa, corresponding to 
Massachusetts ongkoiie (Eliot) "the furthermost," 
neck, either of the two towns. See Uncawamuck, 
Unkechaug. 

435. Unkechaug: a neck of land in the Manor 
of St. George, Mastic Neck, Brookhaven town. 
On this neck was located the village of the Sachem 
Tobacus and of the Sachems that followed him, 
although the name became tribal afterward. In 
the first Indian deed for land on the southside, 
1664, we find: "This indentor wetnesseth a bargin 
or agreement, between the Sachem of Unchachage 
Tobacus, and the inhabetance of Brookhaven else 
Setak" (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 10). Variants are: 



266 Indian Place-Names 

Unquachack, 1664; Unkachauk, 1667; Unkechage, 
1670; Unkechake, 1674; Graham's Survey, 1693, 
Unquachock, etc. The village site is what gave 
rise to the name, being located beyond a hill as 
one approaches it from the east. The word is 
compounded from ongk { = ongkoue, in Eliot), 
"beyond," "utmost," "further," etc.; wadchu=^ 
in composition -adchu, "a hill"; -auke, "land," 
"place." Thus we get Ongk-adch-auke, "land 
or place beyond the hill." See Uncawamuck, 
Uncohong, Unckachohok, Unkawa. 

436. Unqua: a trout stream between Amity- 
ville and South Oyster Bay, belonging to the 
Floyd-Jones estate. This form of the word, 
Unqua-, Unkawa-, etc., occurs occasionally as a 
prefix to some Indian place-name. The creek 
probably takes its name from the neck Unkawa 
through which it flows. See Uncawamuck, Unkawa, 
Unkechaug. 

^2i7. Unshemamuck : fresh pond, on the bound- 
ary between Smithtown and Huntington. The late 
L. Lawrence Smith in his "Notes on Smithtown," 
in Munsell's Hist. S. C. , remarks : " It is no longer 
a pond, it has all grown up to meadow," The 
final decree settling the boundary between the 
two towns in 1675, gives the following: "From 
the west most part of Joseph Whitman's hollow 
and the west side of the Leading hollow to the 



On Long Island 267 

fresh pond Unthemamuck" (H. R., vol. i., p. 214). 
Variations are: Unsheamuk, 1665; Ufishemamuck, 
1677; Unchemau, 1677; Unshemamiike, 1688; 
Osha-mamucks, 1694, etc. This name denotes 
"an eel fishing-place" and is probably the same 
as Onshaukamaug, a locality in Windsor, Conn., 
which Dr. Trumbull translates as "a fishing-place 
for eels, or lampreys (Delaware schachamek, 
'an eel,' from oushacheu), 'smooth, slippery'; 
schachameki, 'the place for eels,' (Heckewelder's 
hidian Names)''; Chippewa (Baraga) ojdsha, 
"it is slippery." This primary meaning of the 
name seems to have been overlooked by the Rev. 
S. A. Anthony in the Lendpe Dictionary edited 
by Dr. D. G. Brinton, who derives it from "a 
straight fish." I am inclined to think Trumbull 
correct in this instance. Roger Williams men- 
tions three names for eels in the Narragansett 
and of two of them Dr. Trumbull writes: 
'' Nqiiitteconnau (neqiUtika, Cotton), plur. nqtciUe- 
connauog, 'they go one by one or singly,' Neeshau 
(Pequot neesh, Stiles), plur. neeshau' og 'they 
couple or go in pairs.' Comp. Abnaki nis- 
svwak, ils sont maries (Rale). In the former 
name we have a trace of the belief once universal, 
as old at least as the days of Aristotle, and 
which not even Sir Thomas Browne ventured to 
reject as a vulgar error — that the eel was without 
distinction of sex. The name 'neeshau, eel,' is 
still retained for a species or variety which is 



268 Indian Place-Names 

occasionally taken in the salt ponds of Martha's 
Vineyard, and which Dr. Storer supposed to be 
the Silver Eel {Murcena argentea, Le Sueur; Rep. 
on Fishes of Mass., p. 158). I cannot say whether 
or not any peculiarity in the habits of this species 
distinguishes it from the common 'single going' 
eel, but the lampreys {Petromyzon A?nericanus, 
Le Stieur) might with striking appropriateness 
be named 'neeshau'og,' for they usually go in pairs, 
and aid each other in constructing their breeding 
places, and give frequent evidences of mutual 
attachment" (Notes to R. Williams's Key, Narr. 
Club Reprint). At certain seasons of the year 
eels enter these ponds for breeding and are de- 
tained in the ponds by the closing of the inlets, 
and as soon as the opening is made they leave 
the pond and are caught by the thousands. 

438. Wagaspor: a creek in the Flatland 
meadows, King's County. The derivation of the 
word is uncertain. 

439. Wainscott: a post-office and R. R. 
station in East Hampton town. The name was 
first applied to a sheet of water still known as 
Wainscott pond. The earliest record found is 
dated 1652, when it was ordered "that a cart-way 
shall be laid out to Wainscott where it may be 
most convenient" (E. H. R., vol. i., p. 22). 
This name is not aboriginal although commonly 



On Lron^ Island 269 

supposed to be such. The pond took its name 
from an ancient method of preparing '' Wainscot 
(oaken timber or boarding) " of which Josselyn 
gives an account in his second Voyage to New 
England, 1673, p. 61, "the ordering of red-oake 
for Wainscot, when they have cut it down and 
clear'd it from the branches, they pitch the body 
of the tree in a muddy place in a river, with the 
head downward for some time; afterwards the}^ 
draw it out; and when it is seasoned sufficiently 
they saw it into boards for wainscot, and it will 
branch out into curious works," Wainscot was 
an article of export from a very early period as 
mentioned by many early writers. For a fuller 
history of this name, see my essay on "Some 
Supposed Indian Names of Places on Long 
Island" (Long Island Mag., 1883, pp. 51-54). 

440. Wainskcumuncake : see Anuskkum- 
mikak. 

441. Wallace: "Indian Name of Woodbury, 
Queen's Co." (De Kay). "The settlement in 
North Hempstead, called Westbury, was pre- 
viously denominated Wallage, by the natives" 
(Paper on the "Indian Names of Long Island" by 
B, F. Thompson, Proc. N. Y. Historical Society, 
1845). Perhaps from a word related to the Dela- 
ware zca/oA, "a ditch," "hole," "cave" (^ivalheu, 
"he digs a hole") . Brinton and Anthony {Lendpe 



270 Indian Place-Names 

Diet., 1889) give walak or waleck, "a hollow or 
excavation." 

442. Wampmissic: a tract of land and a large 
swamp in Brookhaven town, between Yaphank 
and Manor stations on the Long Island R. R. 
This tract of land was part of the Col. Wm. 
Smith's patent for the Manor of St. George, 
dated Oct. 5, 1693, consequently the name is not 
found in the early records, and is therefore to a 
great extent traditional. The earliest mention 
that can be found is in a deed of April 2, 1828, 
from the Smith heirs, to J. H. Weeks, for: "all 
that tract [giving the entire boundaries] called 
and known by the name of Wampmissic.'' The 
name Wampmiss-ick signifies "place of chestnut- 
trees." The components are 'wamp'miss=wom- 
pimish [Narragansett], "a chestnut-tree"; wom- 
piminineash, "chestnuts," literally "white nuts"; 
Delaware woapimininschi, "chestnut-tree"; -ick, 
locative suffix. Trumbull says: "In the Massa- 
chusetts or Natick dialect the locative affix was 
-it, -at, or -ut; in the Narragansett it appears 
to have been -ick, or -uck. This distinction was 
not, however, uniformly observed; we have for 
example keesaq-iU, 'to heaven'; sowwannak-it, 
(not -ick) 'to the southwest.' " The late W. J. 
Weeks, Esq., the then (Feb. 25, 1891) owner of 
the tract and swamp, by letter gives the informa- 
tion that: "The chestnut trees were chiefly 



On Long Island 271 

in the swamp in the central portion of the tract; 
they were killed by a great fire in the woods of 
Brookhaven in 1862 ; and he does not know whether 
the sprouts came up to much extent from the 
stumps, or not." 

443. Wamponamon: the extrem.e eastern end 
of Long Island at Montauk Point where the light- 
house stands. This name is first found recorded 
in the Indian deed of 1661, for the "Hither woods 
tract," viz. : "Whereby we did fully and firmly sell 
unto the said parties our neck of land . . . from 
. . . Wompenanit, to our uttmost bounds west- 
ward called Napeake'' (Hedges's Address, 1848). 
It appears also as Wompenoonot (Ranger's Deeds of 
Montauk, 1850). In 1695, we find: "One fourth 
part of one whol share of that tract of land at the 
east end of the Island of Nassau stretching from 
Womponoman Point Eastward unto Napeag 
Beach Westward, commonly known as Meun- 
taucut" (E. H. R., vol. ii., p. 331). Later the name 
occurs as Wamponamon. This name, in its early 
form, Wompenanit, signifies "at the east" or 
"eastward." Cognate are Massachusetts Wom- 
panniyeu, "the east (when daylight is)"; Abnaki, 
Wampanoag, "the east land"; Delaware Wapan- 
neunk, "east" or "on the east." Wompenanit 
would appear, therefore, to be composed of the 
word for "east" with the locative -it; while 
Wamponamon would be the same or a similar 



2/2 Indian. Place-Names 

word, with the suffix -onk, "place." Both names 
would thus signify "at the east, " or "to the east. " 
Wamponamon is also the name of Lodge No. 437, 
F. and A. M., at Sag Harbor, a very suitable name 
for those that hail from "the east. " 

444. Wanasquattan : a locality in the western 
part of Babylon town, near Amityville. Men- 
tioned in a grant by the town of Huntington, 
May 5, 1696, viz.: "Whereas Thomas Powell 
did obtaine from Governor Dongan a Lissence 
to Purchas of ye native proprietors of Masepague 
on Long Island, two hundred acars of Land about 
Wanasquattan on ye poynts against Massapeag 
swampes heads" (H. R., vol. ii., p. 188). This 
is one of the few instances where the aboriginal 
name of a place appears with its signification 
given. The name Wanasquatta, "point (or top) 
of the hills" is composed of wannasq' correspond- 
ing to the Delaware (Zeisberger) wanachquiwi, 
"point"; Massachusetts (Eliot) wannasque, 
"point," or "top" (Job xxiv., 24; Ezekiel xxi., 
15): -attan {adene, attiny), inseparable generic for 
" hill " or "hills.' ' In Eliot we have Wanasquodin- 
nunk, "in the top of the mountains" (Micah iv., 
i); Wanashquodinnuook, "tops of the mountains." 

445. Wandowenock: a locality at Newtown, 
Queen's Co. "The eastern portion of the town 
was known to the natives as Wandowenock'' 



On Long Island 273 

(Thompson's L. I., vol. ii., p. 137). De Kay 
gives also Wandowenach. A similar name occurs 
in Connecticut as Wad'-awan'-nuc, of which 
Trumbull writes: "The true meaning of the 
name has not been ascertained." I cannot do 
any better. 

446. Wantagh: village of Ridgewood, Hemp- 
stead; was changed at the request of the inhabi- 
tants to Wantagh in 1891. Wantagh is a variation 
of Wiandance. This form of his ncime appears on 
the Hempstead confirmation of July 4, 1647, and 
on the release of May 11, 1658, as Waantauch, 
(Thompson's L. I., vol. ii., pp. 9, 10; Col. Hist. 
N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 416; Book of Deeds, vol. ii., 
Office of Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.). See 
Wyandance. 

447. Waracto: seeWarratta. 

448. Warrasketuck : a creek on the bounds 
between South Oyster Bay and Babylon towns, 
at Amity ville. Andros's patent for Oyster Bay 
town, Sept. 29, 1677, says: — "Beginning on the 
east, at the head of Cold Spring Harbor, and 
running a southward course across the Island to a 
certain river called by the Indians, Warrasketuck, 
etc.," (Thompson, vol. i., p. 488). Variations: 
Wanasketuc, 1797; Waunskittiic, i860; Narraske- 
tiick, on some local maps. Allowing for the 



274 Indian Place-Names 

permutation of ;' and n, Warrasketuck represents 
Wannasquetuck, "the ending or point creek," 
because the creek formed the southern end of the 
boundary. The components of the word would 
thus be wannasque, corresponding to Massa- 
chusetts wanashque, "at the end of," "on the 
top of"; -tuck, "tidal stream," "creek." 

449. Warratta: a neck of land at Centre 
Moriches, lying between Barnes's mill-pond (Ter- 
rell's River) and the creek Senex, Brookhaven 
town. On April 10, 1688, John Mahue, an Indian, 
sells to Elias Doughty of Flushing, half the neck 
Waraeta (Liber A, p. 25, of Deeds, Office of 
County Clerk of Suffolk). ''Warratta'' occurs in 
a deed from Col. Wm. Smith to Richard Smith, 
dated March 15, 1702-3. Samuel Terrell (who 
was the first white man to live upon it), in 17 14, 
names it " Waracto Neck" (S. R., vol. ii., p. 336). 
As will be noticed, most of the Indian names of 
necks of land on the southern border of Brook- 
haven derive their appellations from the Indians 
who formerly lived and planted thereon. So 
with this name. Waraeta (Massachusetts wu- 
nehteau; Cree wunnetou) signifies "he loses, or 
forgets," "the loser" or "the forgetter." 

450. Waspeunk: a neck of upland on the east 
side of Mastic Neck, in town of Brookhaven, 
thus named on the Indian deed of April i, 1690, 



On Lon^ Island ^75 

to Andrew Gibb, viz.: "east by Sunkapogue Creek 
and to Waspeunk or Sguorums Neck. " Waspeunk 
(Massachusetts wusapinuk) signifies "to the edge, 
bank, or margin of a stream. " See Musquatax. 



451. Watchogue: (a) a neck of land at East 
Moriches, Brookhaven town. This neck con- 
tains the east section of the village of East 
Moriches, and is locally known as the "neck," 
bounded on the east by " Mattuck" brook and 
west by a creek called " Pomiches.'' February 
12, 1679: "Dr. Henry Taylor having received 
liberty from the Governor Andros, October i, 
1677, to purchase land on the southside of 
Long Island associating with himself Major 
Thomas Willets of Flushing, and Capt. Thomas 
Townsend of Oyster Bay, purchased of the 
Indian Mayhew the neck called Watchogue" 
I MnnselVs Hist. S. C). Variants are: Watchauge, 
1 681; Watshage, 1697; Watchogue, 1882, etc. 

(b) Watchogue: a neck of land in the town 
of Islip, west of Bay Shore; Sept. i, 1701: 
"The Indians sell to Thomas Willets two necks 
of land called Manetuc and Watchogue, bounded 
west by the river called Compowams, east by the 
river called Watchogue, south by the salt bay and 
to extend northward keeping the full breadth of 
the said necks, as far as the north side of the 
pines" (Thompson, vol. i., p. 447). 



276 Indian Place-Names 

(c) Waichogue: "a locality on Staten Island, 
between Old Place and Chelsea, a level sandy 
territory, sparsely populated, and where not cul- 
tivated covered with a slender growth of pines 
and cedars" (Clute's Annals of Staten Island, p. 
228). Waichogue is Watch-auke, "land on a hill," 
or "hill land," corresponding to Delaware Wacht- 
schunk, "on a hill." The necks probably being 
more hilly than other tracts in the same neighbor- 
hood, perhaps a bluff or abrupt rising from the 
creek or river. The name on Staten Island has 
been transferred from some neighboring hill. 
The name occurs in other parts of the country. 

452. Wattuquasset : a small neck of land 
lying on the southwest side of Great Pond, 
Montauk, mentioned in the Indian deed of May 
31, 1683, to John Osborne (recorded in Sessions 
No. I, p. 134). The name Wattuquasset is re- 
solvable into Wattuqua-es-et, "at or near the 
poles"; probably the "poles" of a haystack. 
Where the "haystack stood" is referred to in 
another record for land in close proximity. The 
components of the word are: Wattuqua, corre- 
sponding to Massachusetts wuttuhq, "bough," 
' ' branch ' ' ; -es-et, locative, " at or near. ' ' 

453- Waubheag: a river or creek on Rock- 
away Neck, Queen's Co. Mentioned in 1655, 
viz.: "a certain tract of land, on ye west side of 



On Long Island 277 

Rockeway Neck, so running westward to a river — 
which river is called by the Indeans waubheag'' 
(Munsell's Hist. Queen's Co.). This name is 
probably derived from an Indian who lived on 
the banks of a river. One of a similar name lived 
on a neck in Brookhaven town called ''Wopehege 
allis porridg Indien" (Brookhaven Rec, vol. i., 
p. 70). 

454. Wauwepex: "The original settlement 
on the west side of Cold Spring Harbor, Oyster 
Bay, Queen's Co., was denominated by them 
Wawepex'' (Thompson, vol. i., p. 50). Also 
occurs as Wauwepex. The name Wauwepex repre- 
sents Waure-paug-es-it, "at the good little water- 
place or pond. " The locality took its name from 
some "good spring of water" as did probably the 
English name of ' ' Cold Spring. ' ' The components 
of the word are wauwe ( = Massachusetts wunni, 
or wirri) , ' ' good ' ' ; -paug, ' ' pond " or " water- 
place"; -es-it, "at or near." Pex (compare e.g. 
Connecticut names in -poxet, etc.) often appears 
as a corrupted form of the diminutive of -paug. 

455. Weckatuck: a neck of land, and a 
running spring of water, at the foot of "Long 
Beach," Southampton town, about three miles 
from Sag Harbor, on the Noyack road. It is 
frequently mentioned in the early records, first 
in 1657, as follows: "Deposition of Mr. Richard 



278 Indian Place-Names 

Odell . . . the Sachems did not sett the bounds 
of East Hampton in the covenant of the purchase 
by reason of Job Sayer and my Standinge for the 
bounds of Southampton but was left untill 
Southampton men should make out their Lawfull 
bounds, the Manhansett Sachem pointed to my 
best rememberance about Wecutake spring for 
the line to runne nere upon the South or upon 
the South line" (E. H. R., vol. i., p. 136). Again 
in 1680: "the meadow on the west side of 
Wecatuck neck." Again in 1706: "By the ap- 
pointment of ye proprietors of North sea pur- 
chase was appointed John Lupton and George 
Harris and Thomas Cooper to lay out nine lots 
betweene ffaranteans point and Weckatuck spring 
so-called upon Hog neck beach" (S. H. R., vol. ii., 
pp. 91, 145). Variations are: Weeckatuck, 1706; 
Weckatuck, i'j()'j. The site of an Indian village is 
located within a short distance of this spring, 
and it must have been a favorite resort of the 
red-man, as it is to-day for the thirsty pedestrian. 
This name is susceptible of two interpretations: 
either, weque-tugk, "end of the woods or trees"; 
or weque-tuk, "end of the cove or creek." Both 
significations will apply to the locality, Wecka- 
tuck spring being at the "end of the woods," 
from any direction of approach, from Noyack, 
Sag Harbor, or Bridgehampton. It is also at the 
"head of the cove" from the same directions. 
The first component in either case will be weque 



On Long' Island 279 

( = Massachusetts uhqude), "end"; the -tugk of 
Wequetugk will correspond to Massachusetts 
m'h'tug (root, h'tug), "tree"; the -tuk of Wequetuk 
is -tuck, "tidal stream," "creek." 



456. Weekewackmamish : a creek at the 
hamlet, known as Southport, Southampton town. 
It is now called "Mill Creek" and empties into 
the Peconic Bay. It is designated by its Indian 
name in the testimony of Paucamp taken down 
in 1660, who gave the names of five creeks: 
"The fourth Weekewackmamish" (Book of Deeds, 
vol. ii., p. 213, Office of the Sec'y of State, Albany, 
N. Y.). In the deposition of Rev. Thos. James, 
Oct. 18, 1667, acting as interpreter, we find the 
following reference to this locality, viz.: "And 
that in those tymes the bounds of thefe Akkobauk 
Indians came Eastward of the river PeJiik konuk 
to a creek which she named. And they gathered 
flags for Matts within that tract of land" (E. H. 
R., vol. i., p. 261). The name denotes "a place 
where the Indians gathered or cut reeds, rushes, 
or flags," of which they made their mats, baskets, 
etc. The components of the word are weekewack = 
Massachvisetts weekinaque (Eliot), "reeds" ; Narra- 
gansett we'kinash (Williams), "reed"; -mamish 
= Narragansett manisimmin, "to cut," or "to 
mow"; Virginian (Strachey) manisc, "to cut." 
Altogether, "where we cut reeds." 



28o Indian Place-Names 

457- Weepoose: name of a little brook in 
Islip town, also known as Keeniiscomock (Bayles's 
Hist. Suffolk Co.). I have been unable to learn 
anything further in regard to it. It may be the 
same as Seapoose, "little river." See Seapoose. 

458. Wegonthotak : a river or creek on Mastic 
Neck, Brookhaven town. This name appears in 
the early records once only, then in the Indian 
deed for meadows at Mastic Neck, 1657, viz.: 
"This writing testifyeth that Wiandance the Men- 
take Sachem have sold to Mr. Richard Woodhull 
of Seatauke, two great necks of meadow, lying 
from a River called Connecticut and so to a River 
called Wegonthotak, eastward" (B. H. R., vol. 
i., p. 92). It appears also as Wegonthotuck 
(Munsell's Hist. S. C). The word is probably 
a variation of the name appearing as Wanun- 
gatuck, Waunungtatuck, Wenunguetuck, or Wongat- 
tack in Connecticut, which Dr. J. H. Trumbull 
translates as "at the bend, or winding of the 
river." The components of the word are we- 
gontho, corresponding to Delaware woakeu, Massa- 
chusetts woonki, "crooked"; -tak {-tuck), "tidal 
river," "creek." 

459. Wehahamis: a small creek in the town of 
Islip, mentioned in a deed of 1714, discovered by 
O. B. Ackerly, Esq., as follows: "East of 
Great River, and south east of Brickkiln Point, 



On Lon^ Island 281 

two small creeks or runnes of water, called 
Wehahamis eastward and Essachias westward." 
This name represents probably Wehquah-amis, 
"the end tree or post," a boundary designation. 

460. Werpos: a locality in the present tenth 
ward of Brooklyn. Mentioned in Kieft's patent, 
dated May 2^, 1640: "for a certain peice of land 
upon the Long Island near Merechkawikingh about 
Werpos'' {Col Hist. N. Y., vol. xiv., p. 31). Ac- 
cording to Schoolcraft, "Warpoes was a term be- 
stowed upon a piece of elevated ground, situated 
above and beyond the small lake or pond called 
the Kolck (in New York City). This term is ap- 
parently a derivation from Wawbose, a hare, a 
rabbit," (N. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll.). Schoolcraft is, 
no doubt, in error in deriving this name from the 
Chippewa wdbos, "a rabbit. " This name does not 
occur in the eastern Algonkian languages, as the 
name of that animal. Besides it would not 
appear as the name of a place unless as the name 
of an Indian residing there. I would suggest 
its derivation as from a word corresponding to the 
Delaware (Zeisberger) wipochk, "a bushy place, " 
"a thicket." See Weepoose. 

461. Wesuck: an abbreviation of Achahacha- 
wesuck, a brook at Atlanticville, Southampton. 
This name was evidently too difficult for the Eng- 
lish to retain, so the first part was dropped and the 



282 Indian Place-Names 

brook became known as simply ''Weesuck,'' or 
" Wesuck." See Achabachawesuck. 

462. Whomeses: see Homes. 
462a. Wiandance: see Wyandance. 

463. Wickapogue: a farming district at the 
western end of Meacox Bay, Southampton town. 
This name is first found in the division of land 
of 1668, viz.: "Tho. Goldsmith at the end of 
his home lot, the rest by goodman Halseys at 
Weequapaug." Same date: ''Mr. John Howell as 
much as may be his owne at Weequapoug" (S. H. 
R., vol. i., pp. 149, 150). Variations are: Weeka- 
paug, 1 681; Wecapoug, 1681; Wickapogue, 1739; 
Wickapog, 1753. Trumbull says: "Wequa-paug 
means 'at the end of the pond, water place.' 
The prefix (Mass. wehquae, uhquae, as in wehqu- 
ohke, 'end of the earth') signifies, primarily, 'as far 
as,' 'to the extreme point, or limit of ' ; it is common 
to all Algonkin dialects, as in Chip, waiekwa- 
ketchigami, the name of Fond du Lac (Wis. and 
Minn.), 'at the end of the great water' (Lake 
Superior). A form of the same prefiiX is found 
in the Mohegan name weexcodawa, for Mass. 
wehqshi-, weekshtk, 'it extends to,' 'goes as far 
as, is the end.' In some place-names, wequae 
or a derivative (Mass. whqude, ukquae, oohque) 
denotes a 'point,' or ending of either land or water 



On Long Island 283 

(in a cove, harbor, or inlet). Comp, Chip. 
wikweia, ' it forms a bay ' ; wikwe- (as prefix) ' in a 
corner of (Baraga)." Wickabaug, the name of 
the Indian village now West Brookfield, Mass. 
(a pond in the western part of the village still 
bears the name of Wickaboag), is the same word. 
See Wickaposset. 

464. Wickaposset : a point of land at Fisher's 
Island, Southold town, "A small rocky island at 
the east end of Fisher's Island, also Wecopesuck, 
Wicapeset. For wehque-peasik, 'little thing at the 
end' of the great island" (Trumbull's Indian 
Names in Connecticut). This would correspond 
to Massachusetts wehgtie, "as far as," "at the 
end"; peasik (or peesik) "a small thing." See 
Wickapogue. 

465. WiGWAGONOCK, Wegwagonuck : that part 
of Sag Harbor east of Division Street, belonging 
to East Hampton town. The oldest inhabitant of 
the town has no knowledge of the locality by this 
name. For a long time the writer was unable 
to locate it. It is referred to in the early records 
some years previous to the settlement of the 
village. According to a release dated 1698, 
Joseph Stretton was left by his father: "a share 
of that peice of meddow that L^^es nearest Hogg 
Neck in this townes Bounds. " " On April 4, 1710, 
Joseph Stretton chose his land going to his farther 



284 Indian Place-Names 

meadow towards the west bounds"; "April 30, 
1 7 1 1 , "he chose his right in said division to be near 
or joining to his meadow at Wegwagonuck,'' April 30, 
1 718, "it was agreed that all the land lying to the 
westward of Joseph Stretton's meadow at Wegwago- 
nock shall lie — as common land forever — all the 
land lying between the bound line and the North- 
side to the utmost limite of East Hampton 
bounds"; in 1728, "Ananias Conkling Jr. entereth 
his land joining his land at Wigwagonock — near 
the bound line"; in 1731, "Cornelius Conkling 
receives an acre in exchange at same place" 
(E. H. R., vol. ii., p. 4; vol. iii., pp. 241, 275, 382, 
443, 465). All of which proves the name to 
belong to Sag Harbor. Conkling is perpetuated in 
Conlcling's Point, adjoining the meadows, which 
were more extensive at that period than they are 
to-day. The march of improvements, encroach- 
ment of the sea, etc., have all contributed their 
part toward obliterating what was once known 
as the "Great Meadows" at Sag Harbor. The 
bound line above mentioned is now Division 
Street, which separated East Hampton from 
Southampton. The name Wegwagonuck repre- 
sents Wequae-adn-auke and means "place at the 
end of the hill," probably the hill known as 
"Sleights Hill. " The meadow was in close prox- 
imity on the north, and extended at one time as 
far west as "Bush Street," within three hundred 
feet of the bound line at Division Street. At the 



On Long Island 285 

foot of this hill can be^fseen the remains of an 
extensive shell-heap, or village site. A large 
part of its area has been carted away to fill up 
the meadow adjoining and to lay out "East 
Water Street." It was this Indian settlement 
probably that gave the name to the locality. 
The site of an Indian village at Sharon, Conn., 
was known by the same name, viz. : Weqiiadnack, 
Wachquatnack, afterwards corrupted to Weqtiag- 
nock. The components of the name are wegwa 
( = Massachusetts wequde), ''end"; -adfi, "hill"; 
-auke, "place." 

466. Wigwame: a swamp in the town of 
Huntington. In 1695 there was: "Laide out 
by the survaiers of the town of Huntington, a 
highway beginning at the head of ye Wigwam 
swamp." A note by C. R. Street, Esq., says: 
"The 'wigwam swamp' here mentioned was 
where the main part of Cold Spring village is now 
located." Wigwam places are frequently named 
in the early records. In 1640 a place in Southold 
town was known as the "Five Wigwams'' (see 
Manhansuck) . This word is common to many 
Algonkian dialects. Trumbull has given us the 
etymology of the name in connection with the 
Narragansett form wetuomuck, viz.: ''Wetii has 
the form of a verb in the indicative, which may be 
nearly translated by 'he is at home,' 'he houses,' 
Wek, week (Eliot) is the regularly formed sub- 



286 Indian Place-Names 

junctive or conditional third person singular of the 
verb 'when (or where) he is at home.' The 
locative affix makes weekit (Eliot) or wekick, 'at 
or in his home' (see Eliot's Grammar, p. ii, 
where the word wigwam is shown to be a corrup- 
tion of weekuwout or wekuwomut, 'in his house,' 
which is doubtless an error of the press for 'in 
their house' as the word has the plural affix) ; 
wetuomuck as Mr. Williams wrote it; Abnaki 
wigvam, cabane, maison (Rale)" (Narragansett 
Club Reprint of R. Williams's Key). 

467. WiMBACCOE : Bergen Island. ^QQWinip- 
pague. 

468. WiNCORAM: see Coram. 

469. WiNGANHAUPPAUGE : a neck of land and a 
brook in the village and town of Islip. The name 
originally belonged to the brook or to its head 
waters. It is sometimes called Champlain's 
Creek. On Nov. i, 1686, Letters Patent were 
issued to Wm. NicoU for: "A certain parcel of 
land and meadow ground unimproved and not as 
yet granted to any person or persons whatsoever, 
being bounded east, by lands of the said Wm. 
Nicoll, south by the sound or bay, west by a 
creek called Wingatthappagh, and north by a right 
line from the head of said creek or river called 
Wingatthappagh,'' etc. (Book of Patents, vol. 



On Lon^ Island 287 

iii., p. 603, Office of Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.). 
On March 26, 1692, Gov. Ingoldsby granted to 
Andrew Gibb of Queen's Co.: "A certaine tract 
of vacant Land upon Long Island commonly 
called and known by the name of Winganhappogue 
Neck being Bounded on the East by Wingan- 
happogue River, South by the Bay, West by the 
Orewake River and North by a Right Line from 
the head of Winganhappogue River," etc. (Book 
of Patents, p. 372). In a mortgage dated Oct. 
30, 1703, by Andrew Gibb to Wm. Richardson 
we find: "All that neck of land . . . commonly 
known and called by ye name of Wingan- 
hoppogue neck or ye pleasant springs,'' etc. 
(Abstract of the Title of Wm. Trist Bailey, etc., 
p. 1 88) . Variations are : Winga?i Hauppauge, 1 773 ; , 
Winganhoppog, 1821. Wingatt, in the Nicoll pat- 
ent, is probably an error of spelling. "Pleasant 
Springs,'' as given in the Gibb's mortgage of 
1703, is a free interpretation probably bestowed 
by Gibb himself, who was more or less familiar 
with the language of the natives, and was a 
prominent man of that period. The components 
of the name, according to this derivative, would 
be wingan^" sweet," "savory," "pleasant to 
the taste" ' = Narragansett weekan, "it is sweet"; 
Massachusetts weekon (Eliot), "it is sweet"; 
-happagh or -hauppaug, "the springs." This is 
a free translation of a name that would be natur- 
ally applied, as descriptive, to living springs that 



288 Indian Place-Names 

burst forth and spread their waters over the land ; 
thereby creating boggy swamps and deceptive 
quicksands. Its Hteral meaning, however, is 
"flooded or overflowed land." In happaug, the 
radical -du- means "to cover"; -pauk, -paug, a 
generic term for a water- place. See Happauge. 

470. WiNGATTHAPPAGH : see Wingauhauppauge. 

471. Winippague: Bergen Island, Jamaica 
Bay. Also Wimhaccoe. The name denotes "a 
fine water-place," from wini, "fine," -paug, 
"water-place." 

472. Winket: a point of land in Huntington 

town on the southern shore of Eaton's Neck 
(see maps of the Island). This name is not In- 
dian, but corrupted from "winkle, " as the moUusk 
periwinkle {Pyrula canaliculata) is sometimes 
called (H. R., vol. iii., p. 462). It was named 
by the Indians meteauhock, "ear- shaped shell." 
The wampum, or white money, was "made out 
of the inmost wreaths ' ' of the shell, or " of the stem 
or stock, when all the shell is broken off " (Wood's 
N. E. Prospect, Pt. II., ch. 3, and after p. 144). 
These stems or whorls are quite plentiful in every 
shell that dots the shores of eastern Long Island. 

473. Winnecomac: hamlet in the eastern part 
of Huntington town, and partly in Smithtown, 



On Long Island 289 

now abbreviated to Comae. In November, 1689, 
the Secatogue Indians conveyed to John Skid- 
more and John Whitman of Huntington a tract 
of land: "known by ye name of Winne-comac 
bounded on ye north side by Witmans Hollow; 
running eastward by ye marked trees to ye head 
of ye southwest branch of Nosoguog River; upon 
ye East side upon a south line to ye pine plaine; 
upon ye south side by ye pathward points of trees 
to Huntington Patten joining on the west side to 
Whitmans Hollow" (vol. i. of Deeds, Office of 
Sec'y of State, 1692 to 1714, p. loi). Variations 
are: Winnecomak, i'j<)'j; Winecomack, 1787; Weno 
Comack, 1 791; Wenecomack, 1795; Wenea-Com- 
mack, 1812, etc. The name Winnecomac is de- 
rived from winne = winni (varying in local 
dialects to wirri, waure, willi, we'e), "good, fine, 
pleasant ' ' (Trumbull) ; -comae = Massachusetts 
komuk (Eliot), "a house, " "a place," "field," etc. 
Winnikomuk, thus signifies "a pleasant field," 
" good land, " "fine country. " See Comae. 

474. WiNNECROSCOMS : neck of land in Brook- 
haven town. One of the many necks of land into 
which Mastic is divided. Graham's map, Sept. 
19) 1693, gives them as follows eastward from 
the Connecticut River, Seabamuck, Unquachock, 
Ffloyds, Porigies, Ebwons or Snake Neck, Wino- 
crosseombs, Mastic. On (probably) Aug. 6, 1684, 
Samuel Eburn of Seatalcot petitions for a license 
19 



290 Indian Place-Names 

to purchase "a neck of land called Snake Neck 
on the southside of Long Island, bounded to the 
east on Winnecroscombs Neck, to the west on the 
head of P alter squas river" (Cal. of Land Papers, 
Office of the Sec'y of State, Albany, N. Y.,p. 29). 
In an Indian deed for roads, 1690, the name appears 
as Wenacroscoms; again as Wenicroscoms. This 
was the name of its Indian owner or dweller, his 
name appears on the Indian deed for beach, in 
1685, as Winecroscum (B. H. R., vol. i., p. 69). 
See Minaussums for another early form, in 1690. 

475. WiSQUOSUCKS: a point of land on the 
Connecticut River, Brookhaven town. The name 
has for many years been abbreviated to Squas- 
sucks. Wisquosuck, Wesquasesac, or Wisquassuck 
was an Indian of the Unkechaug tribe who resided 
on this point. See Squassucks. 

476. Wissiquack: a corrupted form of Nisse- 
quogue, Smithtown. On February 24, 1704, 
Benj. Aske petitions the governor for a warrant 
to survey a tract of land on the north side of 
the county of Suffolk, on Wissiquack River. See 
Tackan, Nissequogue, 

477. Wonunke: neck of land at West Hamp- 
ton, Southampton town. The two necks of land 
lying east of Beaver Dam River (Apocuck Creek) 
were known as "Great" and "Little Wonunk." 



On Long Island 291 

"At a town meeting 1 681, it is agreed that all the 
meadows — as Assops Neck, Catchponack, Potunk, 
and Ononke shall be layd out to every man in- 
terested there" (S. H. R., vol. ii., p. 88). Varia- 
tions are: Onunk, 1683; Wonunk, 1686; Wononck, 
1738; Wonnonch, 1738; Wononke, 1738; Wonock, 
1738; Onuck, 1739; Onach, 1742; modernly Onuck. 
This name as a prefix occurs in Connecticut 
Wonunkapaukook = 'wonunki-paug-ohke, "land at 
the bend or turning of the pond" (Trumbull). 
Here wonunke means simply "the bend" of 
either land or water. The above necks are 
indented by two coves that put in from the bay. 
The radical is seen in Massachusetts woonki, 
"it bends," "it is crooked"; Delaware woakeu; 
Chippewa wdgina, etc. 

478. WooRUSKHOUSE : a place frequently men- 
tioned by Rev. Azariah Horton, in 174 1-3, as being 
three miles from West Neck, now in the town of 
Babylon. The orthography is quite uniform. It 
is possibly meant for Wanasque-auke, "a point 
of land" (from wanasque, "at the end of"; 
-alike, "land"). See Hovtoris Journal. 

479. WopowoG: Stony Brook, Brookhaven 
town. "Known formerly by the Indian name 
of Wopowog'' (Thompson, vol. i., p. 343). This 
name is found in Connecticut as Weepowaug, 
Wopowaug, Wypewoke, etc. It designates land 



292 Indian Place-Names 

"at the narrows" of a river or cove, and usually 
"the crossing place," weepwoi-auk. The diminu- 
tive, "at the little crossing place," is found in 
Wepoiset, the narrows of Kekamuit River in Bristol, 
R. I., and in Weybosset, formerly Wapwayset, 
Providence (Trumbull). Our Wopowog probably 
designates the crossing over the brook now covered 
by a bridge. Eliot has weepwoiyeuut (i Sam. xiii., 
23), "in the passage (between two places)." 

480. WucHEBEHSUCK : a vallcy on the east 
side of the "North Neck," Montauk, East 
Hampton town. The outlet of a small flaggy 
pond and swamp flows through the valley at 
certain seasons of the year. This name is recorded 
in the Indian deed of 1670, and in the documents 
relating to the same. The tract covered by this 
grant was formerly known as the Wuchehehsiick 
purchase, later as the nine-score acre purchase, or 
the land between the ponds. The deed gives us: 
"By us the fors'd parties Wuchebehsuck, a place 
by the fort pond, being a Valley Southward from 
the fort Hill to Shahchippitchage, being on ye 
North side ye s'd Land, midway between the 
great pond and fort pond, so on as straight line 
to Chebiakiymaiihsiik, from thence to a swamp 
where the hay stacks stood, called Mahchongit- 
chage, and so through the swamp to the great 
pond, then straight from the hay stacks to the 
great pond, so along by the pond to a place called 



On Long' Island 293 

Manunkquiaug, on furthest side the reeds growing 
on ye South End of the great pond Eastward, and 
so along to the sea side to a place called Chop- 
pauhshapaugaustick, so straight from thence to the 
South Sea" (Hedges's Address, 1849, Appendix, 
p. 85). All the aboriginal names in the above 
deed, as previously given in this work, are boun- 
daries simply. This one is no exception. Wuche- 
behsuck represents Wut-chebeh-suck, "at the brook 
of separation," or "at the bound-mark brook, 
or outlet." The components are: wuch = wut 
(Eliot), "at or on"; chebeh = chachabe, or chadchabe 
(Eliot), "that which divides or separates" 
(chabenuk in Eliot, "a bound-mark"); -suck, 
"a brook" or an "outlet of a pond." Atchau- 
benuck, the southeast corner bound of Qiiinebaug 
lands in Connecticut is probably of the same 
derivation. 

481. Wyamaug: a point of land at Jamesport, 
Riverhead town. This name is found early 
in the records as Miamogiie and Miamegg, and 
it is probably an error in spelling, although in 
this form it resembles Weraumaiig Lake on the 
northwest border of New Preston, Conn., which 
Trumbull translates as "a good fishing-place," 
from wirri, ' ' good ' ' ; -amaug, ' ' fishing-place. ' ' 
See Miamegg. 

482. Wyandance: the locality known as West 



294 Indian Place-Names 

Deer Park, on the L. I. R. R. in the town of 
Babylon, was changed to Wyandatice on Jan. i, 
1889. 

Wyandance was the Sachem of Paumanack after 
the death of his elder brother in 1652. On the 
heights of Montauk was located his palisadoed 
village. Always the friend of the white settler, 
it is fitting that his name should be perpetuated 
in some part of his domain. The fact that it 
was considered necessary by the early settlers 
of the various middle and western towns of the 
Island to have his sign manual affixed to the 
deeds given by the resident Indians, seems to 
have evoked some detrimental comments thereon. 
Some think that Lyon Gardiner pulled the 
string, and the Sachem danced to it, but it was not 
so. These writers ignore, or else did not know 
of the agreement of 1645, by which the four 
confederated Sachems of Paumanack, all brothers, 
took these weak tribes under their care and pro- 
tection (see Mochgonnekonck) . This was done 
at the request of the tribes, and in doing it the 
Sachems naturally acquired a right to have a say 
in the disposal of these lands, which our ancestors 
understood and recognized. Besides all this, the 
signification of his name shows the estimation 
in which his opinion was held by his own and 
adjoining tribes. The variations in spelling are: 
Weandance, 1642; Wiantanse or Wiantance, 1644; 
Weyrinteynich, 1645; Wyandanch, 1648; Wain- 



On Lon^ Island 295 

dance, 1657; Wyandance, 1657; Wyandack, 1659; 
Wayandanch, 1659. Lyon Gardiner's i?e/a/z6>7z has 
Waiandance. The name Wyandance is derived from 
waian- or wayan = wauontam (he is) wise ; Massa- 
chusetts waantam (Eliot), "wise"; waantog, 
"wise"; -dance, -danch, or -towce = Narragansett 
taunche, "to tell (something)," "to speak out." 
As a whole, Wayan-taunche, "the wise speaker or 
talker," from whom we could learn something. 
Compare the Delaware wewoatangik, "wise man"; 
wewoatank, " a sensible man, " Micmac (Rand). 

483. Wynycomic: see Winnecomac. 

484. Yaphank: a village in Brookhaven town. 
The name was originally applied to a creek some 
distance south of the hamlet. In Tobacus's deed 
for land on south side, June 10, 1664, it was 
bounded: "on the Easte with a river called 
Yamphanke.'" An Indian deed for Yamphank 
Neck, Nov. 13, 1688, bounds it "on the south by 
a smale River called Yamphank." Fletcher's 
patent to Wm. Smith, Oct. 5, 1693, is: "for 
land formerly purchased from the Indians, we 
find the bounds are — to a creek running out of 
the said river [Connecticut] called Yaphank and 
soe along the south west bank of ye sd creek unto 
its head the whole creek included" (B. R. H., 
vol. i., pp. II, 71, 78). Variations are : Yemkhamp, 
1738; Yamphank, 1745. The name Yaphank or 



296 Indian Place-Names 

Yamphank, denotes "the bank of a river," and 
is the equivalent of the Delaware yapeechen, 
yapewi, "on the river bank or edge of the water" 
(Micmac ydtkamkek, "the bank of a river"). 
So-called because the creek bounded the above 
tract of land along its whole length. 

485. Yatamuntitahege : see Tatamucka- 
takis. 

486. Yennicock: the supposed Indian name 
of the locality where the village of Southold is 
situated. It is first mentioned in a deed dated 
October 25, 1640, viz.: "Be it known unto all 
men by these p'sents that I Richard Jackson of 
Yennacock, Carpenter my heires, executors and 
assigns doth sett or assigne and make over to 
Thomas Weatherly marriner, his heirs, executors 
or assigns his dwelling house and all app'tennces 
thereunto belonging" (S. R., vol. i., p. 113). 
Variations are: Yennycok, 1642; Yennicok, 164.2; 
Yenycott, 1643; Yennicock, 1643; Yenicott, 1644; 
Yeanocock, 1644; Yannocock, 1667; Yeannecock, 
1668. The above dwelling house in another entry 
is said to have been on ''Hashamomuk neck," 
but it was really on what is now known as 
Pipe's Neck. Charles B. Moore, Esq., in his 
address at the Southold Celebration, August, 
1890, derived this name from the old Sachem of 
Shelter Island, Yoco, Youghcoe, etc. There is, 



On Long Island 297 

however, no identity between the two names. 
Yennicock belonged to the whole of that tract of 
land extending from Peconic River to Plum Gut, 
the same as Montauk belonged to the whole 
tract of that peninsula, for the name was applied 
to those Indians that formerly planted at Aque- 
bogue, as well as to those living in other parts 
of this tract. The name Yennicock or Yeannecock 
parallels a Massachusetts Yeanni-auk-ut, from 
yeanni, "extended," "stretched out," with the 
locative affi.^ -cock=auk-ut. The word thus 
signifies "at the extended land or country." 
This applies well to this large tract of land on 
which it was bestowed. Besides this, the early 
mention of the name in the records of the mother 
colony at New Haven seems to designate the whole 
tract under the jurisdiction of that colony and 
not any particular settlement. There is absolutely 
no proof that Southold existed as a settlement 
in October, 1640, and that the statement that 
Richard Jackson was of Yennicock simply re- 
ferred to the fact that his house and land were 
part of this "extended country" and that he 
never lived at what is now known as Southold. 



APPENDIX I 

LIST OF ALGONKIAN NAMES SUITABLE FOR COUN- 
TRY HOMES, HOTELS, CLUBS, MOTOR-BOATS, ETC. 

ADCHA'ENIN, "one who goes a hunting." (Also 

Adcha'en.) 
ADCHA'UKOMA, "hunting house." 
ANA'SKAME'SET, "tree that bears acorns." 
ANO'CKQUS, "a star." 
ANWO'HSIN, "he rests." 
APWO'NNAH, "an oyster." 
ARRA'X " gull." 
A WE'PESHA, ' ' it calms. ' ' 

CHA'NSOPS, "grasshopper." 
CHE'CKEPU'CHAT, "the wild cat," an Indian so 

named. 
CHE'KHAMPO'G, "he sweeps the water." 
CHE'PEWrSSIN, "northeast wind." 
CHE'TUHQUA'B, "crown." 
CHIKKU'PEMI'SET, "at the cedar tree." 

jrSKHAMPO'G, "he wipes up the water. " 

KEHCHI'PPAM, "on the shore." 
KE'HTOH, "the sea." 
KENU'PPE, "swiftly." 
KITO'MPANrSHA, "break of day." 
KO'DTOHKE, "top of the land." 

299 



300 Indian Place-Names 

KO'GKENU'PPE, "go quick." 
KO'UAMI'SET, "at the pine tree." 
KUPPO'HKOMA, "a grove," i.e., "shut-in place." 
KUPPO'MUK, "a haven." 
KUSSI'TCHUAN, "rapid stream." 
KUTSHA'MUNAT, "the Hghtning." 
KU'TTIS, "cormorant." 

MACHI'PSCAT, "a stony path." 
MA'SSATUK, ' ' a great tree. " 
MA'UCHETAN, "ebb tide." 
MAUTA'BON, "daylight," or "morning." 
ME'TWEE, "poplar tree." 
MISHA'NNEK, "a squirrel." 

MISHA'NNOCK, "morning star," i.e., "great star." 
MISHA'UPAN, "a great wind. " 
MISHO'ON, "a canoe." 

MISHQUA'TUK, "cedar tree," i.e., "red tree." 
MI'SSITTO'PU, "great frost." 
MO'GEWE'TU, "a great house." 
MO'GGETUK, "a great tree." 
MOGKE'KOMA, "a great house." 
MO'HKUSSA', "burning coal." 
MO'NUNKS, "ash tree." 
MUCKQUE'TU, "he is swift." 
MUNNA'NNOCK, "the moon," i.e., "wonderful 
star. " 

NEPA'NON, "a shower." 
NEPA'UZ, "the sun." 
NE'TOP, "my friend." 
NICKQUE'NUM, "I am going." 
NI'MBAU, "thunder." 



Appendix I 301 

NO'TAMI'SET, "at the oak tree." 

NO'TTOMOG, "a mink." 

NUNNA'KOMA, "on the shore," i.e., "dry place." 

O'PENOCK, "the marten" {Mustela Americana) . 
OUSA'MEQUIN, "yellow feather, " one of the names 

of the famous Indian Massasoit. 
OUWAN, "the mist." 

PA'PONE'TIN, "west wind." 
PA'SHISHA, "sunrise." 
PE'HTEAU, "it foams." 

QUA'NNACUT, "the rainbow," i.e., "long mantle." 

SO'CHEPO, "the snow," i.e., "it snows." 
SOHSU'MO, "glory," i.e., "it shines forth." 
SOWA'NISHIN, "south wind, " i.e., "the wind blows 

from the south." 
SO'WANO'HKE, "the south-land." 
SUNNA'DIN, "north wind." 

TAMO'CCON, "a flood tide." 

TAPA'NTAM, "enough minded," or "it satisfies." 

TA'PAPI'MIN, "room enough." 

TEA'NUK, "quickly." 

TIA'DCHE, "quick." 

TO'PU, "frost." 

TOUWU'TTIN, "south wind." 

USHPUN'WISQ, "he lifts the cup." 

WAMPMI'SET, "at the chestnut tree." 
WAMSU'TTA, "he has a kind heart," name of an 
Indian (eldest son of Massasoit). 



302 Indian Place-Names 

WAYA'AWI, "sunset." 

WECHE'KUM, "the sea." 

WEKONA'NTAM, "sweet-minded." 

WE'NAUWE'TU, "well housed." 

WE'QUARRAN, "eagle." 

WISA'TTIMI'SET, "at the red-oak tree." 

WO'DDISH, "a nest." 

WOPA'TIN, "east wind." 

WO'SOWA'NCON, "a rose." 

WUNA'UQUIT, "evening." 

WUNNE'GIN, "welcome." 

WU'NNEOTA'N, "good town." 

WUNO'HKE, "good ground." 

WUSA'BANUK, "bank," "bluff," or "margin." 

WUSKA'UKOMA, "grove," i.e., "new place." 

WUSKA'WHAN, "a pigeon." 

WUSSE'MO, "he flies." 

WUSSE'NTAM, "he goes a-wooing." 

WU'SSOQUATOMI'SET, "at the walnut tree." 

WU'SSUCKHO'SICK, "writing-house. " 

WUTTA'HMIN, "strawberry," i.e., "heart berry." 

WUTTA'NHO, "a staff." 

WY'BENETT, "the wind," an Indian so named. 

YOVA'WAN, "midst of the mist." 

Note. Except in a few cases, the accents have been 
added to these words by the editor. All of the 
names belong to the Massachusetts (Natick) and 
Narragansett dialects. The correct accentuation of 
some words is a matter of doubt, as the Indians them- 
selves varied in these matters not a little. 

A. F. C. 



APPENDIX II 

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO ALGONKIAN 
NOMENCLATURE, ETC. 

By William Wallace Tooker 

CORRESPONDING MEMBER BROOKLYN INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND 
SCIENCES. CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE NUMISMATIC 
AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA. MEMBER 
OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. A 
FOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 
ONE TIME FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE 
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, AND SECRETARY OF THE SECTION 
OF ANTHROPOLOGY, ETC. 

1. Indian Geographical Names on Long Island. In Brooklyn 

Daily Eagle Almanac, vol. iii., pp. 55-56, Brooklyn, 1888. 
About 100 names, alphabetically arranged, with mean- 
ings. 

2. Indian Place-Names on Long Island, revised and corrected. 

In Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac, vol. iv., pp. 25-26, 
Brooklyn, 1889. About 175 names alphabetically ar- 
ranged, with meanings. 

3. Indian Place-Names on Long Island, revised and corrected. 

In Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac, vol. v., pp. 35-37, 
Brooklyn, 1890. 

4. Indian Place-Names in East-Hampton, Long Island, with 

their Probable Significations. In Records of the Town of 
East Hampton, Long Island, Suffolk Co., N. Y. (Sag 
Harbor, 1889). An alphabetical Hst of 28 names in the 
Montauk language, with meaning and analysis . . . 
Issued separately, as next title below. 
303 



304 Indian Place-Names 

5. Indian Place-Names in East-Hampton Town, with their 

Probable Significations, written for the East-Hampton 
Town Records, vol. iv., Sag Harbor, J. H. Hunt, printer, 
1889. 
Cover title as above, inside title as above, verso blank; 1., 
text, pp. i-x. 

6. Indian Place-Names on Long Island, and Islands Adjacent, 

with their probable significations. Present Publica- 
tion. 

7. Notes to the Address of Hon. Henry P. Hedges. In Address 

delivered at the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the 
village and town of Southampton, June 12, i8qo (Sag 
Harbor, N. Y., 1890). Also few Indian names passim, 
with translation of Peconic. J. H. Hunt, Publisher, Sag 
Harbor, N. Y., 1890. 

8. Some Indian Names of Places on Long Island, N. Y., and 

their Correspondences in Virginia, as Mentioned by Capt. 
John Smith, and Associates. Magazine of New England 
History, vol. i., pp. 154-158, Newport, R. I., 1891. 

9. The Name Massachusetts. Magazine of New England 

History, vol. i., pp. 159-160, Newport, R. I., 1891. 

10. Analysis of the claims of Southold, L. I., for priority of 

settlement over Southampton, L. I., and how they are 
disproved by the early records and contemporary manu- 
scripts. Few Indian names, with their meaning given. 
Magazine of New England History, vol. ii., pp. 1-16, 
Newport, R. I., 1892. 

Revised and read before joint meeting of Southampton 
Colonial Society, and Sag Harbor Historical Society, 
March 5, 1903. 

11. The Kuskarawaokes of Captain John Smith. The American 

Anthropologist, vol. vi., pp. 409-414, Washington, D. C, 
1893. Reprinted in The Archceologist, vol. i., pp. 248- 
251, Waterloo, Ind., December, 1893. 

12. Indian Names of Places in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Daily 

Eagle Almanac, pp. 58-60, Brooklyn, N. Y., 1893. 

13. The Name Susquehanna; Its Origin and Significance. The 

American Antiquarian, vol. xv., pp. 286-291, Good Hope, 
111., September, 1893. 



Appendix II 305 

14. Some Supposed Indian Names of Places on Long Island. 

The Long Island Magazine, vol. i., No. 2, pp. 51-54, 
Brooklyn, N. Y., 1893. 

15. The Aboriginal Terms for Long Island. Brooklyn Daily 

Eagle Almanac, pp. 39-41, Brooklyn, N. Y., 1894. Re- 
printed in The Archceologist, Waterloo, Ind., vol. ii., pp. 
171-178, 1894. 

16. The Algonquian Terms Patawomeke and Massawomeke. 

The American Anthropologist, vol. vii., pp. 174-185, 
Washington, D. C, 1894. Also reprint of 50 copies. 

17. On the Meaning of the Name Anacostia. The American 

Anthropologist, vol. vii., pp. 389-393. Washington, D. C, 
1894. 

18. Some Indian Fishing Stations upon Long Island. This 

paper is a study, with interpretations of some Indian 
names of fishing places upon Long Island, N. Y., together 
with some historical facts relating to the same, gathered 
from early records and documents of the 17th century. 
Read before Section H, American Association for the 
Advancement of Science, at Brooklyn, August, 1894. 
Printed in Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac, pp. 54-57, 
1895. 

19. Roger William's Vindicated, or an Answer to a "Key-hole 

for Roger Williams's Key." A reply to "A Key-hole for 
Roger Williams's Key," by Wm. D. Ely, Providence, 1892. 
Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society, New 
Series, vol. ii.. No. i, pp. 61-67, Providence, 1894. Re- 
plied to in publication of same society, vol. ii., pp. 189- 
196, by Wm. D. Ely. 

20. The Key — Fact versus Theory. A final answer to Wm.. 

D. Ely, Esq., Publication of the Rhode Island Historical 
Society, New Series, vol. ii.. No. 4, pp. 237-241, 1895. 
Remarks by Dr. Amos Perry on same decision of Dr. 
Daniel G. Winter. 

21. The Discovery of Chaunis Temoatan of 1586. The Ameri- 

can Antiquarian, vol. xvii., pp. 1-15, Good Hope, 111., 
1895. Also reprint of 100 copies. Also printed in 
Brooklyn Daily Eagle and Sag Harbor Express, 1894, 
shortly after being read before Section H of A. A. A. S., 



306 Indian Place-Names 

at Brooklyn, August, 1894. Abstract in Proceedings 
for that year. 

22. The Algonquian Appellatives of the Siouan Tribes of Vir- 

ginia, The American Anthropologist, vol. viii., pp. 376-392, 
Washington, D. C, 1895. Read by the author before 
Section H of A. A. A. S., at Springfield, Mass., August, 

1895- 

23. The Origin of the Name "Chesapeake." The Magazine of 

Virginia History and Biography, vol. iii.. No. i, pp. 86-88, 
Richmond, Va., 1895. 
34. The Mystery of the Name Pamunkey. American Anti- 
quarian, vol. xvii.,pp. 289-293, Sept., 1895. Also reprint 
of 100 copies. Read before Section H of A. A. A. S., 
at Springfield, Mass., August, 1895. 

25. The Name Chickahominy, its Origin and Etymology. The 

American Anthropologist, vol. viii., pp. 257-265, Washing- 
ton, D. C, 1895. Also reprint of 50 copies. 

26. The Signification of the Name Montauk. Brooklyn Daily 

Eagle Almanac, pp. 54-55, Brooklyn, N. Y., 1896. Read 
before Section H of A. A. A. S., at Rochester, 1895. 

27. Peculiarities of Some Indian Names of Places on Long 

Island. Read before the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and 
Sciences, March 25, 1895. Printed in full in Brooklyn 
Daily Eagle, March 27, 1895. 

28. The Bocootawanaukes, or the Fire Nation. The Archceo- 

logist, Columbus, Ohio, vol. iii., pp. 189-195. Concluded 
on pages 253-260, 1895. 

29. Louisquisset. Letter on the name, dated Nov. 17, 1894. 

In Book Notes, Providence, R. I., vol. xii.. No. 8, pp. 85- 
86, 1895. 

30. John Eliot's (First Indian Teacher and Interpreter) Cocke- 

noe de-Long-Island, and the Story of his Career, from the 
Early Records, pp. 60, 8vo. Francis P. Harper, N.Y., 
1896. 215 copies printed. Read before the Suffolk 
County, N. Y., Historical Society. 

31. The Indian Village of Wegwagonock. In the Souvenir of 

the Fair held by the Sag Harbor Fire Department, at 
Masonic Hall, June 1-6, 1896. The 77th Anniversary 
of the organization of the department. John E. Rowe & 



Appendix II 307 

Son, Printers, Newark, N. J., pp. 27-31. A description 
of the village, with translation of the name, and notices 
of several other Indian place-names in the vicinity. 

32. On the Derivation of the Name Manhattan. Brooklyn 

Daily Eagle Almanac, pp. 279-283, 1897. Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Read by Dr.W. J. McGee, in the absence of the author, 
before Section H of the A. A. A. S., at Detroit, Mich. 

33. The Significance of John EUot's Natick. The American 

Anthropologist, vol. x., pp. 281-287. Washington, D. C, 
1897. Also reprint of 50 copies. 

34. Indian Geographical Names and why we should study them; 

illustrated by some Rhode Island examples. An ab- 
stract of a paper read before the Rhode Island Historical 
Society, March 25, 1897. Publications of the Rhode 
Island Historical Society, New Series, vol. v., No. 4, pp. 
203-215, 1898. 

35. Translations of Some Indian Place-Names in the Town of 

Barrington, R. I. In A History of Barrington, R. I., by 
Thomas Williams Bicknell, pp. 9, 11, 13. Providence, 
1898. 

36. Analysis and Meaning of Indian Geographical Names in 

Smithtown, L. I. In Records of Town of Smithtown, 
Long Island, N. Y. (edited by Wm. S. Pelletreau, 
A.M., 1898), pp. 28-32 and 386. 

37. The Name Sumpwams, and its Origin. In Silas Wood's 

Sketch of the Town of Huntingtion, L. I. (edited by W. S. 
Pelletreau, A.M.), pp. 58-59. Francis P. Harper, N. Y., 
1898. 

38. Ashtabula and Conneaut (Letters on Indian Place-Names) 

In The American Antiquarian, vol. xx., p. 372, 1898. 

39. The Swastika, and Other Marks among the Eastern Algon- 

quins. The American Antiquarian, vol. xx., pp. 337- 
349, 1898, also reprint of 100 copies. Read before 
Section H of the A. A. A. S. at Boston, August, 1898. 

40. The Problem of the Rechahecrian Indians of Virginia. The 

American Anthropologist, vol. xi.. No. 9, pp. 261-270, 
Washington, D. C, 1898. Also reprint of 50 copies. 
Read before Section H of the A. A. A. S., at Boston, 
August, 1898. 



308 Indian Place-Names 

4 1 . The A dopted Algonquian Term " Poquosin . " The A merican 

Anthropologist (N. S.), vol. i., pp. 162-170, 1899. Also 
reprint of 50 copies. This paper was criticised by W. R. 
Gerard in the "Notes and News" of the above quarterly, 
vol. i., pp. 586-587. This was answered in the same 
volume, pp. 790-791. 

42. The Original Significance of " Merrimac. " The American 

Antiquarian, vol. xxi., pp. 14-16, 1899. 

43. Amerindian Names in Westchester County, N. Y. History 

of Westchester County, Shonnard-Spooner, pp. 45-50, 
1900. 50 reprints in galley proof. 

44. The Algonquian Series. 10 vols., i2mo, N. Y., Francis 

P. Harper, 1901. As foUows: 

1. Origin of the Name Manhattan. 75 pp. 

2. Indian Names of Places in the Borough of Brooklyn. 53 pp. 

3. The Names Susquehanna and Chesapeake. 63 pp. 

4. The Indian Names for Long Island. 49 pp. 

5. The Algonquian Names of the Siouan Tribes of Virginia. 

83 PP- 

6. The Bocootawanaukes or the Fire Nation. 86 pp. 

7. Some Indian Fishing Stations upon Long Island. 62 pp. 

8. The Names Patawomeke and Massawomeke. 62 pp. 

9. The Names Chickahominy, Pamunkey, and the Kuskara- 

waokes. 90 pp. 
10. The Significance of John EUot's Natick, and the name 
Merrimac. 56 pp. 

45. Algonquian Names of some Mountains and Hills. Read be- 

fore the A. A. A. S., Section H, December 30, 1902. The 
Journal of American Folk-Lore, Boston, vol. xvii., pp. 171- 
179, 1904. Reprint of 100 copies. 

46. Indian Place- Names on Long Island. Revised and cor- 

rected, from the Almanac of 1890. Brooklyn Daily 
Eagle Almanac, 1904, pp. 409-410. List of names with 
translations. 

47. Derivation of the Name Powhatan. The American Anthro- 

pologist, vol. vi.. No. 4, July-September, 1904, pp. 464-468. 

48. Book review. Remarks on the names Massasoit, Ousame- 

quin, and Packanoket. The American Anthropologist, 
vol. vi., No. 4, 1904, pp. 547-548. 



Appendix II 309 

49. Some Powhatan Names. The American Anthropologist, 

vol. vi., No. 5, Oct.-Dec, pp. 670-694, 1905. 

50. Meaning of Some Indian Names in Virginia. William and 

Mary College Quarterly, vol. xiv., No. i, pp. 62-64, July, 
1905. 

51. Remarks on the Name Poughkeepsie, and Letter on Some 

Neighboring Indian Names. The Eagle's History of 
Poughkeepsie, by Edward Piatt, 1905, pp. XIII-XV. 

52. Some More about Virginian Names. The American 

Anthropologist, vol. vii.. No. 3, pp. 524-528, 1905. 

53. The Powhatan Name for Virginia. The American Anthro- 

pologist, vol. viii.. No. I, pp. 23-27, 1906. 

54. On the Name Missisquoi. Three Letters on the Name in A 

Study of the Etymology of the Name Missisquoi, by George 
McAleer, M.A. (The Blanchard Press, Worcester, Mass., 
1906), pp. 27-32. See the same with "Addenda," 1910. 

55. The Meaning of Patapsco, and Other Maryland Geographic 

names. Maryland Historical Magazine, vol. ii., pp. 287- 
293, 1907. In a paper by the late Charles W. Bump. 

56. A Perforated Tablet of Stone from New York. Illustrated 

by the Author. Smithsonian Report, 1881, pp. 658-660. 

57. Early License Laws. Brooklyn Times, A-pri\,i^?)?,. See my 

Scrap-Book. (Letter.) 

58. Ancharmock or Robins Island". Sag Harbor Express, Jan. 

19, 1888. (Article) S. B. 

59. Cobb. . . . Origin of the Name. Sag Harbor Express, 

March 11, 1888. (Article) S. B. 

60. Indian Fort on Montauk. Sag Harbor Express, March, 

1888. (Article) S. B. 

61. Indian Names on Long Island. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Dec. 

21,1888. (Letter) S.B. 

62. More Concerning Indian names, on Long Island. Suffolk 

Bulletin, Jan. 1889. (Letter) S. B. 

63. Things of the Past. Sag Harbor Express, March 20, 

1890 (Letter) S. B. 

64. Claims of Gardiner's Island, for Piiority of English settle- 

ment, etc. Sag Harbor Express.] an., i8go (Article) S. B. 

65. Indian Nomenclature. Sotdhside Observer (Letter), 1891 

S.B. 



310 Indian Place-Names 

66. Was Southampton, Long Island, Called by the Indians 

Agawam? Sag Harbor Express, 1891. (Article) S. B. 

67. Indian Relics of Long Island. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 

Lecture before the Brooklyn Institute for Arts and 
Sciences, in 1891. (Article) S. B. 

68. Indian Names on Long Island. Southside Signal, Jan. i8gi. 

(Letter) S. B. 

69. Indian Name of Amityville. Southside Signal, Feb., 1892. 

(Article) S. B. 

70. Lake Nowedonah. Sag Harbor Express, March, 1889. 

(Letter) S. B. 

71. Local Indian Names. Southside Observer, 1892. (Letter) 

S. B. 

72. Wantagh and Wyandance. Southside Observer, 1892. 

(Letter) S. B. 

73. Real Live Indians. Brooklyn Times, 1892. (Letter) S. B. 

74. Plea for an Ancient Name. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1895. 

(Letter) S. B. 

75. Patchogue's Name, its Origin and Meaning. Patchogue 

Advance, June, 1896. (Letter) S. B. 

76. "Earty Long Island, a Colonial Study." Notice of Miss 

Flint's History. Sag Harbor Express, August 6, 1896. 
S. B. 

77. Origin of the Name Syosset. Brooklyn Times, March 29, 

1901. (Letter) S. B. 

78. Maspeth's Ancient Name. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 

19, 1899. (Letter) S. B. 

79. Refugees from Sag Harbor in 1776. Sag Harbor Express, 

(Article) S. B. 

80. The Lost Colony of Roanoke. New York Sun, October 

22, 1900. (Letter) S. B. 

81. Early Sag Harbor Printers and their Imprints. Read 

before the Sag Harbor Historical Society, January 2, 

1902. Printed in Sag Harbor Express, January 23d and 
30, 1902. S. B. 

82. Rev. Robert Fordham, and his Place in History. Read 

before Sag Harbor Historical Society, April i, 1902. 
Sag Harbor Express, April 24, 1902. 



APPENDIX III 

WORKS OF OTHER WRITERS CITED WITH MORE OR 
LESS FREQUENCY IN THIS VOLUME, AND OTHER 
WORKS RELATING TO THE SAME OR SIMILAR 
TOPICS 

Ayres, J. A. Legends of Montauk, with an Historical Appen- 
dix. Hartford, 1849. Pp. 127. 
Bayles, R. M. Historical and Descriptive Sketches of Suffolk 

County, etc., Port Jefferson, L. I., 1874. Pp- xii., 13-424-' 
History of Richmond County (Staten Island) from its 

Discovery to the Present Time. New York, 1887. Pp.750. 
Beauchamp, W. M. Indian Names of New York, etc. 

Fayetteville, N. Y., 1893. Pp. 148. 
Benson, E. Memoir Read before the Historical Society of the 

State of New York, December 31, 18 16. 
Boyd, S. G. Indian Local Names, with their Interpretation. 

York, Pa., 1885. Pp. x., 70. 
De Kay, J. E. [A List of Indian Names of Places on Long 

Island.] N. Y., 1851. Printed, but not published. 
Flint, M. B. Early Long Island: a Colonial Study. New 

York, 1896. Pp. 9, 459. 
French, J. H. Gazetteer of the State of New York, loth ed. 

Syracuse, 1861. Pp. 739. 
Furman, G. Antiquities of Long Island to which is Added a 

Bibliography, by Henry Onderdonck, Jr. Edited by 

Frank Moore. New York, 1874. Pp. 478. Also ed. of 

1875- 

Notes, Geographical and Historical, relating to the Town 

of Brooklyn in Kings County on Long Island. Brooklyn, 
1824. Pp. 116. Also reprint of 1865 and reprinted in 
Antiquities of Rhode Island, 1875. 

* In The American Catalogue (N. Y., 1880) this book is given as published 
by Munsell. 

311 



312 Indian Place-Names 

Gardiner, D. Chronicles of the Town of East Hampton, 
County of Suffolk, New York. N. Y., 1871, pp. 121. 

Gardiner, J. L. Montauk Vocabulary, taken down (March, 
25. 1798) from the Ups of a Montauk chief. MS. in pos- 
session of J. L. Gardiner of Gardiner's Island; also copy, 
made by Wm. W. Tooker, in library of Bureau of American 
Ethnology, Washington, D. C. This vocabulary of some 
seventy words is printed in the following works: 

Bayles, R. M. Historical and Descriptive Sketches of 
Suffolk County (Port Jefferson, 1874), pp. 63-64. 

Lambert, E. R. History of the Colony of New Haven 
(New Haven, 1838,), p. 184. 

Macauley, J. Natural . . . History of New York. 
(Albany, 1829), p. 252. 

Wood, S. Sketch of Long Island (Brooklyn, 1824), 
p. 28. 

Gowans, W. Bibliotheca Americana. Vol. i. Denton, D. 
Brief Description of New York formerly called Nether- 
lands, N. Y., 1845. 

Hall, E. The Ancient Historical Records of Norwalk, Conn., 
etc. Norwalk, 1847. Pp. 320. Another ed. New York, 
1865. 

Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Ed. F. W. 
Hodge. Washington, (Bureau of American Ethnology). 
2 vols. 1907-19 10. 

Hedges, H. P. An Address Delivered on the 20th of December, 
1849, on the Occasion of the Celebration of the Two Hun- 
dredth Anniversary of the Settlement of the Town of East 
Hampton, etc. Sag Harbor, L. I., 1850. Pp. 100. 

Records of the Town of East Hampton, from 1639, etc. 

4 vols. Sag Harbor, 1887. 

A History of the Town of East Hampton, N. Y., etc. Sag 

Harbor, N. Y., 1897. Pp. 5, 344, 10. 

Howell, G. R. The Early History of Southampton, L. I., 
New York. With Genealogies. New York, 1866. Pp. 
318. Second Edition, Revised, Corrected, and Enlarged. 
Albany, 1887. Pp. viii., 473. 

Jefferson, T. A Vocabulary of the Language of the Unquachog 
Indians, who Constitute the Pusspatock Settlement in the 



Appendix III 313 

Town of Brooldiaven, South Side of Long Island. MS. 

(Copy by P. Duponceau) in the Ubrary of the American 

Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, Pa.), of Vocabulary of 

150 words taken down in 1791. 
(Vocabulary of the Long Island Language). Printed in 

Gallatin's Synopsis of Indian Tribes, in ArchcBologia 

Americana (Trans. Amer. Antiq. Soc), vol. ii., Cambridge, 

Mass.. 1836, pp. 306-367. 
Jones, N. W. Indian Bulletin for 1867, No. i. New York, 

1867. Pp.16. Interpretation of Indian Names, pp. 13-16; 

Long Island Names, pp. 13-14. 
Indian Bulletin for 1868, No. 2, New York, 1868. Pp. 26. 

Interpretation of Indian Names, pp. 12-26; Long Island 

Names, pp. 14-15. 
Nelson, W. The Indians of New Jersey. . . With Notices of Some 

Indian Place-Names. Paterson, N. J., 1894. Pp. 168. 
Personal Names of Indians of New Jersey. Paterson, 

N. J. 1904. Pp. 168. 
New Haven Colonial Records. Cited: N. H. Col. R. 
Parsons, U. Indian Names of Places in Rhode Island. 

Providence, 1861. Pp. iv., 5-32. 
Pelletreau, W. S. Analysis and Meaning of Some of the Indian 

Geographical Names of Suffolk County, New York. 

Riverhead Weekly News, May 15, 1883. The original MS. 

(pp. 19) is in possession of Wm. W. Tooker, Sag Harbor, 

L.L 
Centennial Celebration at Southampton, Long Island, 

N. Y., July4, 1876. Sag Harbor, 1876. Pp.26. 
Records of the Town of Smithtown, Long Island, N. Y. 

etc. Huntington, N. Y., 1898. Pp. xvi., 503. 
Prime, N. S. A History of Long Island, from its First Settle- 
ment by Europeans to the Year 1845, etc. New York, 

1845. Pp. xii., 420. 
Records of the Town of Brookhaven. Cited: B. H. R. 
Records of the Town of Easthampton. Cited: E. H. R. 
Records of the Town of Huntington. Cited: H. R. 
Records of the Town of Southampton. Cited: S. H. R. 
Records of the Town of Smithtown. Cited: S. R. 
Records of the Town of Southold. Cited: Southold R. 



314 Indian Place-Names 

Riker, J. Jr. The Annals of Newton in Queens County, New 

York, etc. N. Y., 1852. Pp. 437 
Ruttenber, E. M. Indian Geographical Names. In Pro- 
ceedings of the New York State Historical Association for 1906. 
Smith, E. T. Brookhaven 1 665-1 876. Historic Sketch of 

the Town of Brookhaven. N. p. 1876. Pp. 10. 
Stiles, H. R. A History of the City of Brooklyn, etc. 2 vols. 

Brooklyn, 1867. Also another edition in 3 vols. Albany, 

1869. 
Thompson, B. F. Paper upon the Indian Names of Long 

Island. Proc. N. Y. Histor. Soc. , 1845 (1846), pp. 125-131. 

History of Long Island. New York, 1843. 2 vols. 

Tnmibull, J. H. Words Derived from Indian Languages of 

North America. Trans. Atner. Philol. Assoc, 1872, pp. 

19-32. 
Indian Local Names in Rhode Island. Proc. Amer. Philol. 

Assoc, 1872, pp. 19-20. 
Indian Names of Places on Long Island, derived from 

Esculent Roots. Mag. Amer. Hist. (N. Y.), vol. i., 1877, 

pp. 386-387. 
Indian Names of Places, etc., in and on the Borders of 

Connecticut: with Interpretations of Some of them. Hart- 
ford, 1881. Pp. xiii., 93. 
Natick Dictionary. Smithsonian Institution. Bureau 

of American Ethnology. Bulletin 25. Washington, 1903. 

Pp. xxviii. 349. 
The Composition of Indian Geographical Names, illustra ted 

from the Algonkin Languages. Conn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. 

ii., 1870. Pp. 1-50. 
Note. This list has been compiled by the editor from the 

references in the text of Mr. Tooker, etc. 



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